UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


WILLIAM   PENN    MAKING   HIS  TREATY   OF   PEACE   AND  FRIENDSHIP  WITH 
THE  INDIANS. 


THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM 


OR 


CREDULITY   RUN   MAD 


BY 


AUTHOR   OF   "COLUMBIA,"    "ESTEVAN,  "    "ST.    AUGUSTINE," 

"POCAHONTAS,"    "THE   PILGRIMS,"   "A  CENTURY 

TOO   SOON,"  ETC.,    ETC. 


ILLUSTRATIONS   BY    F.    A.    CARTER 


¥orfc 

FUNK   &   WAGNALLS   COMPANY 
LONDON  AND  TORONTO 

1893 
Printed  in   the    United  State*. 


COPYRIGHT,  1893,  BY  THE 
FUNK  &  WAONALLS   COMPANY 


[Reyittered  at  Stationeri*  Hall,  London,  Eng.] 


CAT 


PEEFACE. 


IT  is  a  difficult  task  to  go  back  to  ages  by-gone, 
to  divest  ourselves  of  what  we  know  and  are  and 
form  a  clear  conception  of  generations  that  have 
been,  of  their  experiences,  objects,  modes  of  life, 
thought  and  expression.  It  is  a  task  better  suited 
to  the  novelist  than  the  historian,  and  even  the 
former  treads  on  dangerous  ground  in  attempting 
it.  One  of  the  prime  objects  of  the  Columbian 
Historical  Novels  is  to  give  the  reader  as  clear  an 
idea  as  possible  of  the  common  people,  as  well  as 
of  the  rulers  of  the  age.  The  author  has  en 
deavored  at  the  risk  of  criticism  to  clothe  the 
speeches  of  his  characters  in  the  dialect  and  idioms 
peculiar  to  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  In  the 
former  volumes,  sentences  most  criticised  are  those 
taken  literally  as  spoken  or  written  at  the  time. 
Though  it  would  seem  that  a  few  critics  grow  more 
severe  the  nearer  an  author  approaches  the  truth, 
yet  the  greater  number  of  thinking  men  a»d  women 

iii 

.TO  i  5  f '? 


iv  PREFACE. 

who  review  these  books  are  students  themselves, 
and  the  author  who  adheres  to  the  language  of  a  by 
gone  age  has  nothing  to  fear  from  them. 

The  "Witch  of  Salem"  is  designed  to  cover 
twenty  years  in  the  history  of  the  United  States, 
or  from  the  year  1680  to  1700,  including  all  the 
principal  features  of  this  period.  Charles  Stevens 
of  Salem,  with  Cora  Waters,  the  daughter  of  an 
indented  slave,  whose  father  was  captured  at  the 
time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth, 
are  the  principal  characters.  Samuel  Parris,  the 
chief  actor  in  the  Salem  tragedy,  is  a  serious 
study,  and  has  been  painted,  after  a  careful  re 
search,  according  to  the  conception  formed  of  him. 
No  greater  villain  ever  lived  in  any  age.  He  had 
scarce  a  redeeming  feature.  His  religion  was  hy 
pocrisy,  superstition,  revenge  and  bigotry.  His 
ambition  led  him  to  deeds  of  atrocity  unsurpassed. 
Having  drawn  the  information  on  which  this  story 
is  founded  from  what  seem  the  most  reliable 
sources,  and  woven  the  story  in  a  way  which  it  is 
hoped  will  be  pleasing  and  instructive,  we  send 
this  volume  forth  to  speak  for  itself. 

JOHN  R.  MUSICK. 

KIRKSVILLE,  Mo.,  Oct.  1st,  1892. 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK,  ^        .        .        .      1 

CHAPTER  II. 
PENNSYLVANIA, .    23 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  INDENTED  SLAVE,    .        .        .        .  **. 

CHAPTER   IV. 
MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK,  ./  65 


CHAPTER  V. 
A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES,       .        .        .        .  •     .        .81 

CHAPTER   VI. 
THE  CHARTER  OAK,        . 101 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Two  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE, 116 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
MOVING  ONWARD, 134 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CHARLES  AND  CORA, 152 

v 


vi  CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 
CHARLES  AND  MR.  PARRIS, 


CHAPTER  XI. 
ADELPHA  LEISLER, 191 

CHAPTER  XII. 
LFTSLER'S  FATE 216 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
CREDULITY  RUN  MAD, 234 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE,        .    '  .       .        .        .  256 

CHAPTER  XV. 
"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH!" 276 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT 290 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
Our  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE,     .        .        .  306 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Si  I'KRSTiTioN  REIGNS,    .....        .        .        .  327 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Tin.  WOMAN   ix  BLACK 346 

CHAPTER  XX. 
CONCLUSION, 354 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

William  Perm  making  his  treaty  of  peace  and  friend 
ship  with  the  Indians  (See  page  32),      Frontispiece 

"  Take  it  away  ! " 1 

"Cannot  rise!     Pry thee,  what  ails  you,  friend?"         .       11 
Seizing  a  firebrand,  he  searched  for  the  print  of  the 

cloven  foot 21 

William  Penn, 27 

"  We  all  rose  in  the  air  on  broomsticks, "  .         .95 

Charles  Stevens,    at  one   sweep,    snuffed   out  every 

candle  on  the  table, 108 

The  Charter  Oak, 113 

The  sturdy  wife  assailed  him  with  her  mop- stick  and 

drove  him  away,      ......     147 

"  Then  you  may  both  go  down — down  to  the   infernal 

regions  together !" 189 

"Which  of  the  twain  shall  it  be?"        .         .         .         .213 
Eight  men,  bearing  litters,  were  at  the  door.     All  were 

dripping  with  water,        .         .         .         .         .     233 
At  every  stroke  he  repeated,  "I  do  this  in  the  name  of 

the  Lord," 239 

"  Its  motions  were  quicker  than  those  of  my  axe, "      .     250 
The  sheriff  brought  the  witch  up  the  broad  aisle,  her 

chains  clanking  as  she  stepped,       .         .         .     274 
The  jail  trembled  to  its  very  centre,     ....     301 

Nought  was  to  be  seen,  save  massacre  and  pillage  on 

every' side,         .......     310 

vii 


viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAQE 

The  resolute  father  continued  to  fire  as  he  retreated,  .     320 

Lieut.  -Gov.  Stoughton, 330 

George  Waters  cut  two  stout  sticks  for  crutches,          .     353 
"Charles  Stevens,  do  you  seek  death?"         .        .         ,371 
Cotton  Mather,       .        .        .        ...        ,        .380 

Witchea1  Hill, 382 


THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 


CHAPTEK    I. 

THE    MAN    WITH    THE    BOOK. 

Through  shades  and  solitudes  profound, 
The  fainting  traveler  wends  his  way  ; 

Bewildering  meteors  glare  around, 
And  tempt  his  wandering  feet  astray. 

— MONTGOMERY. 

HE  autumnal  evening  was 
cool,     dark     and    gusty. 
Storm-clouds  were   gath 
ering  thickly  overhead,  and 
the  ground  beneath  was  cov 
ered     with     rustling     leaves,, 
which,   blighted  by  the  early 
frosts,  lay  helpless  and  dead 
at    the    roadside,    or    were 
made  the  sport  of  the  wind.    A 
solitary  horseman  was  slowly 

plodding  along  the  road  but  a 
"TAKE  IT  AWAY!  " 

few  miles  from  the  village  of 
Salem.      In  truth  he  was  so  near  to  the  famous 


2  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Puritan  village,  that,  through  the  hills  and  inter 
vening  tree-tops,  he  could  have  seen  the  spires  of 
the  churches  had  he  raised  his  melancholy  eyes 
from  the  ground.  The  rider  was  not  a  youth,  nor 
had  he  reached  middle  age.  His  face  was  hand 
some,  though  distorted  with  agony.  Occasionally 
he  pressed  his  hand  to  his  side  as  if  in  pain; 
but  maugre  pain,  weariness,  or  anguish, he  pressed 
on,  admonished  by  the  lengthening  shadows  of 
the  approach  of  night.  Turning  his  great,  sad, 
brown  eyes  at  last  to  where  the  road  wound 
about  the  valley  across  which  the  distant  spires  of 
Salem  could  be  seen,  he  sighed: 

"Can  I  reach  it  to-night?  I  must!" 
Salem,  that  strange  village  to  which  the  horseman 
was  wending  his  way,  in  October,  1684,  was  a 
different  village  from  the  Salem  of  to-day.  It  is  a 
town  familiar  to  every  American  student,  and, 
having  derived  its  fame  more  from  its  historic  recol 
lections  than  from  its  commerce  or  industries,  its 
name  carries  us  back  two  centuries,  suggesting  the 
faint  and  transient  image  of  the  life  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  who  gave  that  sacred  name  to  the  place  of 
their  chosen  habitation.  Whatever  changes  civil 
ization  or  time  may  bring  about,  the  features  of 
natural  scenery  are,  for  the  most  part,  unalterable. 
Massachusetts  Bay  is  as  it  was  when  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  first  beheld  it.  On  land,  there  are  still  the 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.  3 

craggy  hills,  with  jutting  promontories  of  granite, 
where  the  barberries  grow,  and  room  is  found  in  the 
narrow  valleys  for  small  farms,  and  for  apple  trees, 
and  little  slopes  of  grass,  and  patches  of  tillage 
where  all  else  looks  barren. 

The  scenery  is  not  more  picturesque  to-day,  than 
on  that  chill  autumnal  eve,  when  the  strange  horse 
man  was  urging  his  jaded  steed  along  the  path 
which  led  to  the  village.  His  garments  were  travel- 
stained  and  his  features  haggard. 

Three  hunters  with  guns  on  their  shoulders  were 
not  half  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  horseman.  They, 
too,  evidently  had  passed  a  day  of  arduous  toil; 
for  climbing  New  England  hills  in  search  of  the 
wild  deer  was  no  easy  task. 

They  were  men  who  had  hardly  reached  middle 
age;  but  their  grave  Puritanic  demeanor  made  them 
look  older  than  they  were.  Their  conversation  was 
grave,  gloomy  and  mysterious.  There  was  little 
light  or  frivolous  about  them,  for  to  them  life  was 
sombre.  The  hunt  was  not  sport,  but  arduous  toil, 
and  their  legs  were  so  weary  they  could  scarcely  drag 
themselves  along. 

"  Now  we  may  rejoice,  John  Ely,  that  home  is 
within  sight,  for  truly  I  am  tired,  and  I  think  I 
could  not  go  much  farther,"  one  of  the  pedestrians 
remarked  to  the  man  at  his  side. 

"Right  glad  will  I  be  when  we  are  near!"  an- 


4  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

,,1  the  fatigued  John  Bly.     "This  has  been  a 
iuinl  tlav  with  fruitless  result." 

••  \\Y  have  hail  some  fair  shots  to-day,"  put  in  a 
third  man,  who  walked  a  little  behind  the  others. 

"Verily,  we  have;  yet  what  profits  it  to  us, 
Samuel  Gray,  when  our  guns  fail  to  carry  the  ball 
to  the  place?  I  had  as  many  fair  shots  to-day  as 
would  bring  down  a  dozen  bucks,  and  yet  I  missed 
every  time.  You  know  full  well  I  am  not  one  to 
miss." 

"You  are  not,  John  Louder." 
'  Then  the  three  men  looked  mysteriously  at  each 
other.  They  were  all  believers  in  supernatural 
agencies,  and  the  fact  that  such  a  faultless  marks 
man  should  miss  was  enough  to  establish  in  their 
minds  a  belief  that  other  than  natural  causes  were 
at  work.  There  could  be  no  other  reason  given 
that  John  Louder  should  miss  his  mark,  than  that 
his  gun  was  "bewitched."  It  was  an  age  when 
tin-  last  "lying  throes  of  superstition  seemed  fasten 
ing  on  the  people's  minds,  and  the  spasmodic  strug 
gle  threatened  to  upset  their  reason.  The  New 
Kn<rlamler's  mind  was  prepared  for  mysteries  as  the 
fallow  ground  is  prepared  for  the  seed.  He  was 
busied  conquering  the  rugged  earth  and  making  it 
yield  to  his  husbandry.  His  time  was  divided  be 
tween  arduous  toil  for  bread  and  fighting  the  In 
dians.  He  was  hemmed  in  by  a  gloomy  old  forest, 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  .BOOK  5 

the  magnitude  of  which  he  did  not  dream,  and  it 
was  only  natural,  with  his  fertile  imagination,  nar 
row  perceptions  and  limited  knowledge,  that  he 
would  see  strange  sights  and  hear  strange  sounds. 
Images  and  visions  which  have  been  portrayed  in 
tales  of  romance  and  given  interest  to  the  pages  of 
poetry  were  made  by  him  to  throng  the  woods,  flit 
through  the  air  and  hover  over  the  heads  of  terri 
fied  officials,  whose  learning  should  have  placed 
them  beyond  the  bounds  of  superstition.  The 
ghosts  of  murdered  wives,  husbands  and  children 
played  their  part  with  a  vividness  of  representation 
and  artistic  skill  of  expression  hardly  surpassed  in 
scenic  representation  on  the  stage.  The  superstition 
of  the  Middle  Ages  was  embodied  in  real  action, 
with  all  its  extravagant  absurdities  and  monstrosi 
ties.  This,  carried  into  the  courts  of  law,  where 
the  relations  of  society  and  conduct  or  feelings  of' 
individuals  were  suffered  to  be  under  control  of 
fanciful  or  mystical  notions,  could  have  but  one 
effect.  When  a  whole  people  abandoned  the  solid 
ground  of  common  sense,  overleaped  the  boun 
daries  of  human  knowledge,  gave  itself  up  to  wild 
reveries,  and  let  loose  its  passions  without  restraint, 
the  result  was  more  destructive  to  society  than  a 
Vesuvius  to  Pompeii.  When  John  Louder  said 
his  gun  was  bewitched,  there  was  no  incredulous 
smile  on  his  companions'  faces. 


6  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

The  political  complexion  of  New  England  at 
that  time  no  doubt  had  much  to  do  with  the  super- 
st  i  tious  awe  which  overspread  that  country.  Within 
the  recollection  of  many  inhabitants,  the  parent 
government  had  changed  three  times.  Charles  II. 
had  lived  such  a  life  of  furious  dissipation,  that 
his  earthly  career  was  drawing  to  a  close. 

The  New  England  people  were  zealous  theo 
logians,  and  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  hated 
above  all  sects  the  Roman  Catholics.  Charles  II. 
could  not  reign  long,  and  James,  Duke  of  York, 
his  brother,  would  be  his  successor,  as  it  was  gen 
erally  known  that  Charles  II.  had  no  legitimate 
heir.  It  was  hoped  by  some  that  his  illegitimate 
son,  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  a  Protestant,  might 
succeed  him.  Some  had  even  hinted  that  Charles 
II.,  while  flying  from  Cromwell,  had  secretly  mar- 
riod  Lucy  Waters,  the  mother  of  the  duke;  but 
this  has  never  been  proved  in  history. 

The  somewhat  ostentatious  manner  in  which  the 
Duke  of  York  had  been  accustomed  to  go  to  mass, 
during  the  life  of  his  brother,  was  the  chief  cause 
of  the  general  dislike  in  which  he  was  held.  Even 
Charles,  giddy  and  careless  as  he  was  in  general, 
saw  the  imprudence  of  James'  conduct,  and  signifi 
cantly  told  him  on  one  occasion  that  he  had  no  de 
sire  to  go  upon  his  travels,  again,  whatever  James 
might  wish.  When  it  became  currently  reported 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.  7 

all  over  the  American  colonies  that  this  bigoted 
Catholic  would,  on  the  death  of  his  brother,  become 
their  ruler,  the  New  Englanders  began  to  tremble 
for  their  religion.  There  was  murmuring  from 
every  village  and  plantation,  keeping  society  in  a 
constant  ferment. 

The  three  hunters  were  still  discussing  their  ill 
luck  when  the  sound  of  horse's  hoofs  fell  on  their 
ears,  and  they  turned  slowly  about  to  see  a  stranger 
approaching  them  on  horseback.  His  sad,  gray 
eye  had  something  wild  and  supernatural  about  it. 
His  costume  had  at  one  time  been  elegant,  but  was 
now  stained  with  dust  and  travel.  It  included  a 
wrought  flowing  neckcloth,  a  sash  covered  with  a 
silver-laced  red  cloth  coat,  a  satin  waistcoat  em 
broidered  with  gold,  a  trooping  scarf  and  a  silver 
hat-band.  His  trousers,  which  were  met  above 
the  knees  by  a  pair  of  riding  boots,  like  the  re 
mainder  of  his  attire,  was  covered  with  dust. 

The  expression  of  pain  on  his  face  was  miscon 
strued  by  the  superstitious  hunters  into  a  look  of 
fiendish  triumph,  and  John  Louder,  seizing  the  arm 
of  Ely,  whispered: 

"It  is  he!" 

"Perhaps " 

"  I  know  it,  Ely,  for  he  hath  followed  me  all  day." 

"Then  wherefore  not  give  him  the  ball,  which 
he  hath  guarded  from  the  deer?" 


8  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"It  would  be  of  no  avail,  John.  A  witch  can 
not  l>e  killed  with  lead.  He  would  throw  the  ball 
in  my  face  and  laugh  at  me." 

The  three  walked  hastily  along,  casting  wary  and 
uneasy  glances  behind  as  the  horseman  drew  nearer. 
Each  trembled  lest  the  horseman  should  speak,  and 
once  or  twice  he  seemed  as  if  he  would;  but  pain, 
or  some  other  cause  unknown  to  the  hunters,  pre 
vented  his  doing  so.  He  rode  swiftly  by,  disap 
pearing  over  the  hill  in  the  direction  of  Salern. 

When  he  was  out  of  sight  the  three  hunters 
paused,  and,  falling  on  their  knees,  each  uttered  a 
short  prayer  for  deliverance  from  Satan.  As  they 
rose,  John  Louder  said: 

"Now  I  know  full  well,  good  men,  that  he  is 
the  wizard  who  hath  tampered  with  my  gun." 

"Who  is  he?" 

"  Ah!  well  may  you  ask,  Samuel  Gray,  who  he 
is;  a  stian-cr,  the  black  man,  the  devil,  who  hath 
assumed  this  form  to  mislead  and  torment  us. 
One  can  only  wonder  at  the  various  cunning  of 
Satan, "and  Louder  sighed. 

" Truly  you  speak,  friend  John,"  Ely  answered, 
"The  enemy  of  men's  souls  is  constantly  on  the 
lookout  for  the  unwary." 

"I  have  met  him  and  wrestled  with  him,  until  I 
was  almost  overcome;  but,  having  on  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  I  did  cry  out  'Get  thee  behind  me. 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.  9 

Satan!'  and,  behold,  I  could  smell  the  sulphur  of 
hell,  as  the  gates  were  opened  to  admit  the  prince 
of  darkness." 

The  shades  of  night  were  creeping  over  the  earth, 
and  the  three  weary  hunters  were  not  yet  within 
sight  of  their  homes,  when  the  horseman  who  had 
so  strangely  excited  their  fears  drew  rein  at  a  spring 
not  a  fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  village  of  Salem 
and  allowed  his  horse  to  drink.  He  pressed  his 
hand  to  his  side,  as  if  suffering  intolerable  anguish, 
and  murmured: 

"Will  I  find  shelter  there?" 

Overcome  by  suffering,  he  at  last  slipped  from 
his  saddle  and,  sitting  among  the  rustling  leaves 
heedless  of  the  lowering  clouds  and  threatened 
storm,  buried  his  face  in  his  hands.  Two  hours 
had  certainly  elapsed  since  he  first  came  in  sight  of 
Salem,  and  yet  so  slow  had  been  his  pace,  that  he 
had  not  reached  the  village;  but  on  the  earth, 
threatened  with  a  raging  tempest,  he  breathed  in 
feeble  accents  a  prayer  to  God  for  strength  to  per 
form  the  great  and  holy  task  on  which  he  was  bent. 
He  was  sick  and  feeble.  In  his  side  was  a  wound 
that  might  prove  fatal,  and  to  this  he  occasionally 
pressed  iris  hand  as  if  in  pain. 

He  who  heareth  the  poor  when  they  cry  unto 
Him,  answered  the  prayer  of  the  desolate.  A 
farmer  boy  came  along  whistling  merrily  despite  the 


10  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

approaching  night  and  storm.  Not  the  chilling 
blasts  of  October,  the  dread  of  darkness,  nor  the 
cold  world  could  depress  the  spirits  of  Charles 
Stevens,  the  merry  lad  of  Salem.  In  fact,  he  was 
so  merry  that,  by  the  straight-laced  Puritans,  he 
was  thought  ungodly.  He  had  a  predisposition  to 
whistling  and  singing,  and  was  of  "a  light  and 
frivolous  carriage."  He  laughed  at  the  sanctity 
of  some  people,  and  was  known  to  smile  even  on 
the  Lord's  Day.  When,  in  the  exuberance  of  his 
spirits,  his  feet  kept  time  to  his  whistling,  the  good 
Salemites  were  horrified  by  the  ungodly  dance. 

Charles  Stevens,  however,  had  a  better  heart, 
and  was  a  truer  Christian  than  many  of  those  sanc 
timonious  critics,  who  sought  to  restrain  the  joy 
and  gladness  with  which  God  filled  his  soul.  It 
was  this  good  Samaritan  who  came  upon  the  suffer 
ing  stranger  whom  the  three  Puritans  had  con 
demned  in  their  own  minds  as  an  emissary  of  the 
devil. 

"Why  do  you  sit  here,  sir?"    Charles  asked, 
leaving  off  his  whistle.     "  Night  is  coming  on,  and 
it  is  growing  so  chill  and  cold,  you  must  keep  mov 
ing,  or  surely  you  will  perish." 

"I  cannot  rise,"  was  the  answer. 

"Cannot  rise!  prythee,  what  ails  you,  friend?" 
I  am  sick,  sore  and  wounded." 

"Wounded!"  cried  Charles,  "and  sick,  too!" 


THE  MAN  WITH   THE  BOOK. 


11 


His  sharp  young  eyes  were  enabled  to  penetrate 
the  deepening  shades  of  twilight,  and  he  saw  a 
ghastly  pallor  overspreading  the  man's  face,  who, 


"CANNOT  RISE!    PRYTHEE,  WHAT  AILS  YOU,  FRIEND?" 

pressing  his  hand  upon  his  side,  gave  vent  to  gasps 
of  keen  agony.  His  left  side  was  stained  with 
blood. 


12  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"You  are  wounded!"  Charles  Stevens  at  last 
declared.  "Pray,  how  came  it  about?" 

"  I  was  fired  upon  by  an  unseen  foe,  for  what 
cause  I  know  not,  as,  being  a  stranger  in  these 
parts,  I  have  had  no  quarrel." 

"Come,  let  me  help  you  to  rise." 

"No,  it  is  useless.  I  am  tired  and  too  faint  to 
go  further.  Let  me  lie  here.  I  will  soon  be  dead, 
and  all  this  agony  will  be  over." 

At  this,  the  cheerful  mind  of  Charles  Stevens 
asserted  itself  by  inspiring  hope  in  the  heart  of  the 
fainting  stranger. 

"No,  no,  my  friend,  never  give  up.  Don't  say 
die,  so  long  as  you  live.  It  is  but  a  few  rods 
further  to  the  home  where  I  live  with  my  mother. 
I  can  help  you  walk  so  far,  and  there  you  can 
get  rested  and  warmed,  and  mother  will  dress  your 
wound." 

"Can  I  go?"  the  traveller  asked. 

"Men  can  do  wonders  when  they  try." 

"Then  I  will  try." 

"I  will  help  you." 

The  boy  threw  his  strong  arm  around  the  man 
and  raised  him  to  his  feet;  but  his  limbs  no  longer 
obeyed  his  will,  and  he  sank  again  upon  the  ground. 

"  It  is  of  no  avail,  my  good  boy.  I  cannot  go. 
Leave  me  to  die." 

Charles  turned  his  eyes  about  to  look  for  the 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.  13 

stranger's  horse;  but  it  had  strayed  off  in  the  dark 
ness.  To  search  for  him  would  be  useless,  and  for 
a  moment  the  good  Samaritan  stood  as  if  in  thought; 
then,  stripping  off  his  coat  and  wrapping  it  around 
the  wounded  man,  he  said  hopefully: 

"I  will  be  back  soon,  don't  move,"  and  he  hur 
ried  away  swiftly  toward  home.  On  reaching  the 
threshold,  he  thanked  God  that  he  was  not  a  wan 
derer  on  such  a  night. 

The  New  England  kitchen,  with  its  pewter-filled 
dresser,  reflecting  and  multiplying  the  genial  blaze 
of  the  log-heaped  fire-place,  its  high-backed,  rush- 
bottomed  chairs,  grating  as  they  were  moved  over 
the  neatly  sanded  floor,  its  massive  beam  running 
midway  of  the  ceiling  across  the  room,  and  its  many 
doors,  leading  to  other  rooms  and  attics,  was  a 
picture  of  comfort  two  hundred  years  ago.  The 
widowed  mother,  with  her  honest,  beautiful  face 
surrounded  by  a  neat,  dark  cap  border,  met  her  son 
as  he  entered  the  kitchen  and,  glancing  at  him 
proudly,  said: 

"The  wind  gives  you  good  color,  Charles." 

" Yes,  mother, "  rubbing  his  cheeks,  "they  do 
burn  some; — mother." 

"Well?" 

"I  heard  you  tell  Mr.  Ely,  the  other  day,  that 
you  could  trust  me  with  all  you  had.  Will  you 
trust  me  with  old  Moll  and  the  cart  to-night?" 


14  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"What  do  you  want  with  Moll  and  the  cart?" 

"  To  go  to  the  big  spring  under  the  hill  for  a  poor 
man  who  is  sick  and  wounded." 

"  And  alone?" 

"Yes,  mother." 

"It  is  a  freezing  night." 

"  Yes,  mother,  and  he  may  die.  He  is  unable  to 
walk.  Remember  the  story  of  the  good  Samaritan. " 

After  a  long  pause,  the  widow  said,  "Yes,  you 
may  have  old  Moll  and  the  cart.  Bring  him  here, 
and  we  will  care  for  him;  but  remember  that  to 
morrow's  work  must  be  done." 

"If  you  have  any  fault  to  find  to-morrow  night, 
don't  trust  me  again!"  and  the  boy,  turning  to  the 
cupboard  beneath  the  dressers,  buttered  a  generous 
slice  of  bread,  then  left  the  room  with  a  small 
pitcher,  and  returned  with  it  brimming  full  of  cider, 
his  mother  closely  noting  all,  while  she  busied  her 
self  making  things  to  rights  in  her  culinary  depart 
ment.  Charles  next  went  out  and  harnessed  the 
mare  to  the  cart,  then  returned  to  the  kitchen  for 
his  bread  and  cider. 

"Why  not  eat  that  before  you  go?"  queried 
the  mother. 

"1  am  not  hungry,  I  have  had  some  supper, 
you  know.  Good  night,  mother.  I  will  be  back 
soon;  so  have  the  bed  ready  for  the  wounded 
stranger." 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.  15 

"God  bless  you,  my  brave  boy,"  the  mother  ex 
claimed,  as  he  went  out  and  sprang  into  the  cart. 
She  now  knew  that  he  had  taken  the  bread  and 
cider  for  the  sick  man,  under  the  hill. 

Charles  hurried  old  Moll  to  a  faster  gait  than  she 
was  accustomed  to  go,  and  found  the  stranger  where 
he  had  left  him.  Leaping  from  the  cart,  he  said: 

"I  am  back,  sir!  You  said  you  were  faint. 
Here's  some  of  our  cider,  and  if  you  will  sit  up 
and  drink  it  and  eat  this  bread,  you  will  feel  better, 
and  here  is  old  Moll  and  the  cart  ready  to  take  you 
home  where  you  will  receive  good  Christian  treat 
ment  until  you  are  well  enough  to  go  on  your  way 
rejoicing." 

So  he  went  on,  bobbing  now  here  and  now  there 
and  talking  as  fast  as  he  could,  so  as  not  to  hear 
the  poor  man's  outpourings  of  gratitude,  as  he  ate 
and  drank  and  was  refreshed.  With  some  diffi 
culty,  he  got  the  stranger  into  the  cart,  where,  sup 
ported  by  the  boy's  strong  arm,  he  rode  in  almost 
total  silence  through  the  increasing  darkness  to  the 
home  of  the  widow  Stevens.  He  was  taken  from 
the  cart  and  was  soon  reclining  upon  a  bed. 

His  wound,  though  painful,  was  not  dangerous 
and  began  to  heal  almost  immediately.  Surgery 
was  in  its  infancy  in  America,  and  on  the  frontier 
of  the  American  colonies,  every  one  was  his  own 
surgeon. 


1«  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

The  widow  dressed  the  wound  herself,  and  the 
stranger  recovered  rapidly.  Charles  next  day  found 
a  horse  straying  in  the  forest  with  a  saddle  and  hol 
sters,  and,  knowing  it  to  be  the  steed  of  the  wounded 
stranger,  he  brought  it  home. 

As  the  wounded  man  recovered  he  became  more 
silent  and  melancholy.  He  had  not  even  spoken 
his  name  and  seldom  uttered  a  word  unless  ad 
dressed. 

One  night  this  mysterious  stranger  disappeared 
from  the  widow's  cottage.  He  might  have  been 
thought  ungrateful  had  he  not  left  behind  five 
golden  guineas,  which,  the  note  left  behind  said, 
were  in  part  to  remunerate  the  good  people  who  had 
watched  over  and  cared  for  him  so  kindly.  Charles 
Stevens  and  his  mother  were  much  puzzled  at  this 
mysterious  stranger,  and  often  when  alone  they  com 
mented  on  his  conduct. 

Their  home  was  outside  the  village  of  Salem,  and 
for  days  they  did  not  have  a  visitor;  but  two  or 
three  of  their  neighbors  had  seen  the  stranger  while 
at  their  house,  yet  they  told  no  one  about  him. 
His  mysterious  disappearance  was  kept  a  secret  by 
mother  and  son.  Little  did  they  dream  that  in 
after  years  they  would  suffer  untold  sorrow  for 
playing  the  part  of  good  Samaritans. 

John  Louder  and  his  friends  had  almost  forgotten 
their  day  of  hard  luck  in  the  woods.  Their  more 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.  17 

recent  hunts  had  proven  successful,  for  the  witches 
had  temporarily  left  off  tampering  with  their  guns. 
The  stranger  whom  they  had  met  on  that  evening 
was  quite  forgotten. 

A  fortnight  after  the  stranger  disappeared,  John 
Louder  was  wandering  in  the  forest,  his  gun  on  his 
shoulder.  The  sun  had  just  dipped  Below  the 
western  hills  and  trees,  and  he  was  approaching  a 
small  lake  at  which  the  deer  came  to  drink. 

It  was  a  dense  forest  through  which  he  was  press 
ing  his  way.  In  places  it  was  so  dense  he  was  com 
pelled  to  part  the  underbrush  with  his  hands. 
Centuries  of  summer  suns  had  warmed  the  tops  of 
the  same  noble  oaks  and  pines,  sending  their  heat 
even  to  the  roots.  Though  the  early  frosts  of  Oc 
tober  had  stricken  many  a  leaf  from  its  parent  stem, 
enough  still  remained  to  obscure  the  vision  at  a 
rod's  distance. 

Night  was  approaching,  and  John  Louder,  brave 
as  he  was  to  natural  danger,  had  a  strange  dread  of 
shadows  and  the  unreal. 

He  pressed  his  way  through  the  wood,  until  a 
spot  almost  clear  of  timber  was  in  sight.  This 
little  area,  which  afforded  a  good  view  of  the  sky, 
although  it  was  pretty  well  filled  with  dead  trees, 
lay  between  two  of  those  high  hills  or  low  moun 
tains  into  which  the  whole  surface  of  the  adjacent 
country  was  broken. 
2 


18  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Dashing  aside  the  bushes  and  brambles  of  the 
swamp,  the  forester  burst  into  the  area  with  an  ex 
clamation  of  delight. 

"One  can  breathe  here!  There  is  the  lake  to 
which  the  deer  come  to  drink.  Now,  if  Satan 
send  not  a  witch  to  lead  my  bullets  astray,  per 
chance  I  may  have  a  venison  ere  an  hour  has 


He  gathered  some  dry  sticks  of  wood  and,  with 
his  flint  and  steel,  quickly  kindled  a  fire. 

His  fire  was  to  keep  off  the  mosquitoes,  which 
were  tormenting  in  that  locality.  The  fire  did  not 
alarm  the  deer,  for  they  had  seen  the  woods  burn 
so  often  that  they  would  go  quite  close  to  a  blaze. 

Hardly  had  he  lighted  his  fire,  when  he  was 
startled  by  the  tramp  of  feet  near,  and  a  moment 
later  a  horseman  rode  out  of  the  woods  and  drew 
rein  before  him. 

Louder  was  surprised,  but  by  no  means  alarmed. 
A  man  in  the  forest  was  by  no  means  uncommon, 
yet  he  felt  a  little  curious  to  know  why  he  was 
tli<-re.  He  reasoned  that  probably  the  fellow  had 
lost  his  way,  and  had  been  attracted  by  his  camp 
fire;  but  the  stranger's  question  dispelled  that  de 
lusion. 

"Are  you  John  Louder?"  he  asked 

"Yes." 

"You  live  at  Salem?" 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK.       19 

"I  do." 

"Are  you  a  Protestant?" 

"lam." 

"You  do  not  believe  in  the  transubstantiation 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  into  the  bread  and 
wine  of  the  Sacrament?" 

John  Louder,  who  was  a  true  Puritan  and  a  hater 
of  the  Papists,  quickly  responded : 

"I  do  not  hold  to  any  such  theology." 

"  Nor  do  you  believe  in  the  infallibility  of  the 
pope?" 

"I  believe  no  such  doctrine." 

"  Then  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  you  are  a  true 
Protestant." 

"I  am,"  Louder  answered  with  no  small  degree 
of  pride. 

"  So  much  the  better. " 

The  stranger  dismounted  from  his  horse  and 
slipped  his  left  hand  through  the  rein,  allowing  the 
tired  beast  to  graze,  while  with  his  right  hand  he 
began  searching  in  his  pockets  for  something. 

"Would  you  have  a  Catholic  king?"  he  asked 
while  searching  his  pockets. 

"No." 

"You  prefer  a  Protestant." 

"I  do." 

"I  knew  it,"  and  he  continued,  "King  Charles 
is  nearing  his  end.  But  a  few  months  more  must 


20  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

see  the  last  of  this  monarch,  and  then  we  will  have 
another.  The  great  question  which  appeals  to  the 
In-art  of  every  Englishman  to-day  is,  shall  it  be  a 
Protestant  or  a  Catholic?" 

"A  Protestant!"  cried  John  Louder,  in  his 
bigoted  enthusiasm. 

"Then,  John  Louder,  it  behooves  the  English 
people  to  speak  their  minds  at  once,  lest  they  have 
fastened  upon  them  a  monarch  who  will  wrench  from 
them  their  religious  liberties." 

Louder  was  wondering  what  the  man  could  mean 
when  the  stranger  suddenly  took  from  his  pocket  a 
book.  It  was  a  book  with  a  red  back,  as  could  be 
seen  from  the  fire-light.  The  stranger  drew  from 
another  pocket  a  pen  and  an  ink  horn  and,  in  a 
voice  which  was  solemn  and  impressive,  said: 

"Sign!" 

John  Louder  was  astonished  at  the  request,  or 
command,  whichever  it  might  be,  and  mechanically 
stretched  out  his  hand  to  take  the  book.  At  this 
moment  the  camp-fire  suddenly  flamed  up,  and  he 
afterward  averred  that  the  face  of  the  stranger  was 
suddenly  changed  to  that  of  a  devil,  and  from  his 
burning  orbs  there  issued  blue  jets  of  flame,  while 
the  win ili-  air  was  permeated  with  sulphur.  With 
a  yell  of  horror,  he  started  back,  crying: 

"  Take  it  away !  take  away  your  book !  I  will  not 
sign!  I  will  not  sign!" 


THE  MAN  WITH  THE  BOOK. 


21 


"  Sign  it,  and  I  promise  you  a  Protestant  king." 
"Away!  begone!     The  whole  armor  of  God  be 
between  me  and  you." 

Quaking  with  superstitious  dread,  Louder  sank 


c. 


SEIZING  A  FIREBRAND,  HE  SEARCHED  FOR  THE  PRINT  OF  A 
CLOVEN  HOOF. 

down  upon  the  ground  and  buried  his  face  in  his 
hands.      For  several  minutes   he   remained   thus 


THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

trembling  with  fear,  and  when  he  finally  recovered 
sufficiently  to  raise  his  eyes,  the  stranger  was  gone. 

He  and  his  horse  had  vanished,  and  John 
Louder,  seizing  a  firebrand,  searched  the  ground 
for  the  print  of  a  cloven  foot.  He  found  it  and, 
snatching  up  his  rifle,  ran  home  as  rapidly  as  he 
could.  It  was  late  that  night  when  he  reached 
his  house  and,  rapping  on  the  door,  called: 

"  Good-wife !    Good-wife,  awake  and  let  me  in ! " 

"John  Louder,  wherefore  came  you  so  early, 
when  I  thought  you  had  gone  to  stalk  the  deer  and 
would  not  come  before  morning?" 

"I  have  seen  him!" 

"Whom  have  you  seen?" 

"The  man  with  the  book." 

This  announcement  produced  great  consternation 
in  the  mind  of  good-wife  Louder.  To  have  seen 
the  man  with  the  book  was  an  evil  omen,  and  to 
sign  this  book  was  the  loss  of  one's  eternal  soul. 

"Did  you  sign  it,  John?"  she  asked. 

"No." 

"God  be  praised!" 


PENNS  YL  VANIA. 


27 


were  fined  and  imprisoned  for  contempt  of  court, 
in  wearing  their  hats  in  the  presence  of  that  body. 
At  this  time  William  Penn  was  only  twenty-four 
years  of  age. 

A  great  many  Friends  had  emigrated  to  Am  erica, 
and  two  had  become  proprietors  of  New  Jersey. 
The  first  event  that  drew  _ 

Penn's  particular  attention 
to  America  was  when  he  was 
called  upon  to  act  as  umpire 
between  the  two  Quaker 
proprietors  of  New  Jersey. 
Having  the  New  World  thus 
thrust  upon  his  attention, 
the  young  convert  to  the  new 
religion  began  to  look  with 
longing  eyes  across  the  At 
lantic  for  a  home  for  himself 
and  his  persecuted  brethren. 
Shortly  afterward,  he  ob 
tained  from  the  crown  a  charter  for  a  vast  territory 
beyond  the  Delaware.  This  charter  was  given  in 
payment  of  a  debt  of  eighty  thousand  dollars  due 
to  his  father  from  the  government.  The  charter 
was  perpetual  proprietorship  given  to  him  and  his 
heirs,  in  the  fealty  of  an  annual  payment  of  two 
beaver  skins.  In  honor  of  his  Welch  ancestry, 
Penn  proposed  calling  the  domain  "New  Wales;" 


WILLIAM  PENN. 


28  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

but  for  some  reason  the  secretary  of  state  ob. 
jected. 

Penn,  while  endeavoring  to  think  up  an  appro 
priate  title,  suggested  that  Sylvania  would  be  an 
appropriate  name  for  such  a  woody  country.  The 
secretary  who  drew  up  the  charter,  on  the  impulse 
of  the  moment,  prefixed  the  name  of  Penn  to  Sylva 
nia  in  the  document.  William  Penn  protested 
against  the  use  of  his  name,  as  he  had  no  ambition 
to  be  thus  distinguished,  and  offered  to  pay  the 
secretary  if  he  would  leave  it  out.  This  he  refused 
to  do,  and  Penn  next  appealed  to  the  king — "the 
merrie  King  Charlie,"  who  insisted  that  the  prov 
ince  should  be  called  Pennsylvania,  in  honor  of 
his  dead  friend  the  admiral.  Thus  Pennsylvania 
received  its  name.  The  territory  included  in 
William  Penn's  charter  extended  north  from  New 
Castle  in  Delaware  three  degrees  of  latitude  and 
five  degrees  of  longitude  west  from  the  Delaware 
River.  William  Penn  was  empowered  to  ordain  all 
laws  with  the  consent  of  the  freemen,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  king.  No  taxes  were  to  be  raised 
save  by  the  provincial  assembly,  and  permission 
was  given  to  the  clergymen  of  the  Anglican  church 
to  reside  within  the  province  without  molestation. 

The  charter  for  Pennsylvania  was  granted  in 
March  14,  1681,  and  on  the  following  May,  Penn 
sent  William  Markham,  a  relative,  to  take  posses- 


PENNSYLVANIA.  29 

sion  of  his  province  and  act  as  deputy  governor. 
A  large  number  of  emigrants  in  the  employ  of  the 
"  company  of  free  traders  "  who  had  purchased  lands 
in  Pennsylvania  of  the  proprietor,  went  with  him. 
These  settled  near  the  Delaware  and  "builded  and 
planted." 

With  the  assistance  of  Algernon  Sidney,  a  sturdy 
republican,  who  soon  after  perished  on  the  scaffold 
for  his  views  on  personal  liberty,  Penn  drew  up  a 
code  of  laws  for  the  government  of  the  colony,  that 
were  wise,  liberal  and  benevolent,  and  next  year 
sent  them  to  the  settlers  in  Pennsylvania  for  their 
approval. 

William  Penn  soon  discovered  that  his  colony 
was  liable  to  suffer  for  the  want  of  sea-board  room. 
He  coveted  Delaware  for  that  purpose,  and  resolved 
if  possible  to  have  it.  This  territory,  however, 
was  claimed  by  Lord  Baltimore  as  a  part  of  Mary 
land,  and  for  some  time  had  been  a  matter  of  dis 
pute  between  him  and  the  Duke  of  York.  For  the 
sake  of  peace,  the  latter  offered  to  purchase  the  ter 
ritory  of  Baltimore;  but  the  baron  would  not  sell 
it.  Penn  then  assured  the  Duke  that  Lord  Balti 
more's  claim  was  "  against  law,  civil  and  common." 
The  duke  gladly  assented  to  the  opinion,  and  the 
worldly-wise  Quaker  obtained  from  his  grace  a  quit 
claim  deed  for  the  territory,  now  comprising  the 
whole  of  the  State  of  Delaware. 


80  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

As  soon  as  William  Penn  had  accomplished  his 
purpose,  he  made  immediate  preparations  for  go 
ing  to  America,  and  within  a  week  after  the  bar 
gain  was  officially  settled,  he  sailed  in  the  ship 
Welcome,  with  one  hundred  emigrants,  in  August, 
1682.  Many  of  his  emigrants  died  from  small-pox 
on  the  voyage;  but  with  the  remainder  he  arrived, 
early  in  November,  at  New  Castle,  where  he  found 
almost  a  thousand  emigrants.  In  addition  to  these, 
there  were  about  three  thousand  old  settlers — 
Swedes,  Dutch,  Huguenots,  Germans  and  English 
— enough  to  form  the  material  for  the  solid  founda 
tion  of  a  State. 

There  Penn  received  from  the  agent  of  the  Duke 
of  York,  and  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people,  a 
formal  surrender  of  all  that  fine  domain.  The 
Dutch  had  long  before  conquered  and  absorbed  the 
Swedes  on  the  Delaware,  and  the  English  in  turn 
had  conquered  the  Dutch,  and  it  was  by  virtue  of 
his  charter,  giving  him  a  title  to  all  New  Nether- 
land,  that  the  duke  claimed  the  territory  as  his  own. 
The  transfer  inherited  for  Penn  and  his  descendants 
a  dispute  with  the  proprietors  of  Maryland,  which 
might  seem  incompatible  with  the  views  of  Quak 
ers.  William  Penn,  in  honor  of  the  duke,  at 
tempted  to  change  the  name  of  Cape  Henlopen  to 
Cape  James;  but  geography  is  sometimes  arbitrary 
and  refuses  to  change  at  will  of  rulers,  and  Henlo- 


PENNSYLVANIA.  31 

pen  and  May  preserve  their  original  names  given 
them  by  the  Dutch. 

It  was  the  earliest  days  in  November  when 
William  Penn,  with  a  few  friends,  set  out  in  an 
open  boat  and  journeyed  up  the  river  to  the  beauti 
ful  bank,  fringed  with  pine  trees,  on  which  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  was  soon  to  rise. 

On  this  occasion  was  made  that  famous  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  with  which  every  school-boy  is 
acquainted.  Beneath  a  huge  elm  at  Shakamaxon, 
on  the  northern  edge  of  Philadelphia,  William 
Penn,  surrounded  by  a  few  friends,  in  the  habili 
ments  of  peace,  met  the  numerous  delegations  of 
the  Lenni-Lenape  tribes.  The  great  treaty  was 
not  for  the  purchase  of  lands;  but,  confirming 
what  Penn  had  written  and  Markham  covenanted, 
its  sublime  purpose  was  the  recognition  of  the  equal 
rights  of  humanity,  under  the  shelter  of  the  forest 
trees,  barren  of  leaves  from  the  effects  of  the  early 
frosts.  Penn  proclaimed  to  the  men  of  the  Algon- 
kin  race,  from  both  banks  of  the  Delaware,  from 
the  borders  of  the  Schuylkill,  and,  it  may  have 
been,  even  from  the  Susquehannah,  the  same  sim 
ple  message  of  peace  and  love  which  George  Fox 
had  professed  before  Cromwell,  and  which  Mary 
Fisher  had  borne  to  the  Grand  Turk.  He  argued 
that  the  English  and  the  Indian  should  respect  the 
same  moral  law,  should  be  alike  secure  in  their 


89  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

pursuits  and  their  possessions,  and  should  adjust 
every  difference  by  a  peaceful  tribunal,  to  be  com 
posed  of  an  equal  number  of  wise  and  discreet  men 
from  each  race.  Penn  said: 

"  We  meet  on  the  broad  pathway  of  good  faith 
and  good-will.  No  advantage  will  be  taken  on 
either  side;  but  all  shall  be  openness  and  love.  I 
will  not  call  you  children,  for  parents  sometimes 
chide  their  children  too  severely,  nor  brothers  only, 
for  brothers  differ.  The  friendship  between  me 
and  you,  I  will  not  compare  to  a  chain,  for  that 
rains  might  rust,  or  the  falling  tree  might  break. 
We  are  the  same  as  if  one  man's  body  were  divided 
into  two  parts.  We  are  all  one  flesh  and  blood." 

The  sincerity  of  the  speaker,  as  well  as  his  sacred 
doctrine,  touched  the  hearts  of  the  forest  children, 
and  they  renounced  their  guile  and  their  revenge. 
The  presents  which  Penn  offered  were  received  in 
sincerity,  and  with  hearty  friendship  they  gave  the 
belt  of  wampum. 

"  We  will  live,"  said  they,  "  in  love  with  William 
Penn  and  his  children,  as  long  as  the  moon  and  the 
sun  shall  endure." 

Mr.  Bancroft  says:  "This  agreement  of  peace 
and  friendship  was  made  under  the  open  sky,  by 
the  side  of  the  Delaware,  witk  the  sun  and  river 
and  the  forest  for  witnesses.  It  was  not  confirmed 
by  an  oath ;  it  was  not  ratified  by  signatures  and 


PENNSYLVANIA.  33 

seals;  no  record  of  the  conference  can  be  found, 
and  its  terms  and  conditions  had  no  abiding  inscrip 
tion  but  on  the  heart.  There  they  were  written 
like  the  law  of  God.  The  simple  sons  of  the  wilder 
ness,  returning  to  their  wigwams,  kept  the  history 
of  the  covenant  by  strings  of  wampum,  and,  long 
afterward,  in  their  cabins,  would  count  over  the 
shells  on  a  clean  piece  of  bark  and  recall  to  their 
own  memory  and  repeat  to  their  children  or  to  the 
stranger  the  words  of  William  Penn.  New  Eng 
land  had  just  terminated  a  disastrous  war  of  exter 
mination.  The  Dutch  were  scarcely  ever  at  peace 
with  the  Algonkins.  The  laws  of  Maryland  refer 
to  Indian  hostilities  and  massacres,  which  extended 
as  far  as  Eichmond.  Penn  came  without  arms;  he 
declared  his  purpose  to  abstain  from  violence;  he 
had  no  message  but  peace,  and  not  a  drop  of  Quaker 
blood  was  shed  in  his  time  by  an  Indian. 

"  Was  there  not  progress  from  Melendez  to  Roger 
Williams?  from  Cortez  and  Pizarro  to  William 
Penn?  The  Quakers,  ignorant  of  the  homage 
which  their  virtues  would  receive  from  Voltaire 
and  Raynal,  men  so  unlike  themselves,  exulted  in 
the  consciousness  of  their  humanity.  'We  have 
done  better,'  said  they  truly,  'than  if,  with  the 
proud  Spaniards,  we  had  gained  the  mines  of 
Potosi.  We  may  make  the  ambitious  heroes,  whom 
the  world  admires,  blush  for  their  shameful  vic- 
3 


84  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

tories.  To  the  poor,  dark  souls  around  about  us 
we  teach  their  rights  as  men.' ' 

After  the  treaty,  Penn  again  journeyed  through 
New  Jersey  to  New  York  and  Long  Island,  visiting 
friends  and  preaching  with  his  usual  fervor  and 
earnestness.  Then  he  returned  to  the  Delaware, 
and,  on  the  seventh  day  of  November,  he  went  to 
Uplands  (now  Chester),  where  he  met  the  first  pro 
vincial  assembly  of  his  province.  There  he  made 
known  his  benevolent  designs  toward  all  men, 
civilized  and  savage,  and  excited  the  love  and  rev 
erence  of  all  hearers.  The  assembly  tendered  their 
grateful  acknowledgment  to  him,  and  the  Swedes 
authorized  one  of  their  number  to  say  to  him  in 
their  name  that  they  "  would  live,  serve  and  obey 
him  with  all  they  had,"  declaring  that  it  was  "the 
best  day  they  ever  saw."  He  informed  the  assem 
bly  of  the  union  of  the  "territories"  (as  Delaware 
was  called)  with  his  province,  and  received  their 
congratulations.  Then  and  there  was  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  great  commonwealth  of  Pennsyl 
vania. 

One  matter  still  remained  to  be  adjusted,  and 
that  was  some  satisfactory  arrangement  with  the 
third  Lord  Baltimore,  concerning  the  boundary 
lines.  This  at  last  having  been  amicably  adjusted, 
Penn  went  up  the  Delaware  in  an  open  boat  to 
Wicaco,  to  attend  the  founding  of  a  city,  to  which 


PENNSYLVANIA.  36 

allusion  had  been  made  in  his  concessions  in  1681. 
Before  his  arrival  in  America,  Penn  had  thought 
of  this  city  he  was  to  found,  and  resolved  to  give 
it  the  name  of  Philadelphia — a  Greek  word  signify 
ing  brotherly  love — as  a  token  of  the  principles  in 
which  he  intended  to  govern  his  province. 

Near  a  block-house  constructed  by  the  Swedes, 
but  which  had  since  been  converted  into  a  church, 
he  purchased  lands  extending  from  the  high  banks 
of  the  Delaware,  fringed  with  pines,  to  those  of  the 
Schuylkill.  There  his  surveyor  laid  out  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  upon  a  plan  which  would  embrace 
about  twelve  square  miles. 

The  surveyor  who  aided  William  Penn  in  laying 
out  Philadelphia  was  Thomas  Holme.  It  was  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1682,  that  the  town  was  sur 
veyed,  and  the  boundaries  of  the  streets  marked  on 
the  trunks  of  the  chestnut,  walnut,  locust,  spruce, 
pine  and  other  forest  trees  covering  the  land. 
Many  of  the  streets  were  named  for  the  forest  mon- 
archs  on  which  these  inscriptions  were  cut,  and  still 
bear  the  names.  The  growth  of  the  town  was 
rapid,  and,  within  a  year  after  the  surveyor  had 
finished  this  work,  almost  a  hundred  houses  had 
been  erected  there,  and  the  Indians  daily  came 
with  the  fruits  of  the  chase  as  presents  for  "  Father 
Penn,"  as  they  delighted  to  call  the  proprietor. 

In  the  following  March,  the  new  city  was  honored 


86  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

by  the  gathering  there  of  the  second  assembly  of 
the  province,  when  Penn  offered  to  the  people, 
through  their  representatives  a  new  charter.  The 
new  charter  was  so  liberal  in  all  its  provisions, 
that  when  he  asked  the  question : 

"Shall  we  accept  the  new  constitution  or  adhere 
to  the  old  one?"  they  voted  in  a  body  to  accept 
the  new  charter,  and  became  at  once  a  representa 
tive  republican  government,  with  free  religious  tol 
eration,  with  justice,  for  its  foundation,  and  the 
proprietor,  unlike  those  of  other  provinces,  sur 
rendered  to  the  people  his  chartered  rights  in  the 
appointment  of  officers.  From  the  beginning,  the 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  his  people  appeared  to 
be  uppermost  in  the  heart  and  mind  of  William 
Penn.  It  was  this  happy  relation  between  the  pro 
prietor  and  the  people,  and  the  security  against 
Indian  raids,  that  made  Pennsylvania  far  outstrip 
her  sister  colonies  in  rapidity  of  settlement  and 
permanent  prosperity. 

It  was  late  in  1682  that  a  small  house  was  erected 
on  the  site  of  Philadelphia  for  the  use  of  Penn, 
and  only  a  few  years  ago  it  was  still  standing  be 
tween  Front  and  Second  Streets,  occupied  by  Letitia 
Court. 

There  he  assisted  in  fashioning  those  excellent 
laws  which  gave  a  high  character  to  Pennsylvania 
from  the  beginning.  Among  other  wise  provisions 


PENNSYLVANIA.  37 

was  a  board  of  arbitrators  called  peace-makers,  who 
were  to  adjust  all  difficulties  and  thus  prevent  law 
suits.  The  children  were  all  taught  some  useful 
trade.  When  factors  wronged  their  employees, 
they  were  to  make  satisfaction  and  one-third  over. 
All  causes  for  irreligion  and  vulgarity  were  to  be 
suppressed,  and  no  man  was  to  be  molested  for  his 
religious  opinions.  It  was  also  decreed  that  the 
days  of  the  week  and  the  months  of  the  year  "  shall 
be  called  as  in  Scripture,  and  not  by  heathen  names 
(as  are  vulgarly  used),  as  ye  First,  Second  and 
Third  months  of  ye  year,  beginning  with  ye  day 
called  Sunday,  and  ye  month  called  March,"  thus 
beginning  the  year,  as  of  old,  with  the  first  spring 
month.  Pennsylvania  was  first  divided  into  three 
counties — Bucks,  Chester  and  Philadelphia,  and  the 
annexed  territories  were  also  divided  into  three 
counties — New  Castle,  Kent  and  Sussex — known 
for  a  long  time  afterward  as  the  "Three  Lower 
Counties  on  the  Delaware." 

Penn  returned  to  England  in  the  summer  of  1684, 
leaving  the  government  of  the  province  during  his 
absence  to  five  members  of  the  council,  of  which 
Thomas  Lloyd,  the  president,  held  the  great  seal. 
William  Penn's  mission  in  America  had  been  one 
of  success.  In  1685,  Philadelphia  contained  six 
hundred  houses;  schools  were  established,  and 
William  Bradford  had  set  up  a  printing  press.  He 


.'16151'? 


38  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

printed  his  "  Almanac  for  the  year  of  the  Christian's 
Account,  1687,"  a  broadside,  or  single  sheet,  with 
twelve  compartments,  the  year  beginning  with 
March. 

William  Penn  could  look  with  no  little  degree 
of  pride  upon  his  work.  If  ever  man  was  justified 
in  being  proud,  he  was.  Looking  upon  the  result 
of  his  work,  he,  with  righteous  exultation,  wrote 
to  Lord  Ilalifax,  "  I  must,  without  vanity,  say  I 
have  led  the  greatest  colony  into  America  that  ever 
man  did  upon  private  credit,  and  the  most  pros 
perous  beginnings  that  ever  were  in  it  are  to  be 
found  among  us." 

Penn  bade  the  colonists  farewell,  with  the 
brightest  hopes  for  the  future,  saying,  "  My  love 
and  my  life  are  to  and  with  you,  and  no  water  can 
quench  it,  nor  distance  bring  it  to  an  end.  I  have 
been  with  you,  cared  for  you,  and  served  you  with 
unfeigned  love,  and  you  are  beloved  of  me  and 
dear  to  me  beyond  utterance.  I  bless  you  in  the 
name  and  power  of  the  Lord,  and  may  God  bless 
you  with  his  righteousness,  peace  and  plenty  all 
the  land  over."  Then  of  Philadelphia,  the  apple 
of  the  noble  Quaker's  eye,  he  said,  "And  thou, 
Philadelphia,  the  virgin  settlement  of  this  province, 
my  soul  prays  to  God  for  thee,  that  thou  mayest 
stand  in  the  day  of  trial,  and  that  thy  children  may 
be  blessed." 


PENNSYLVANIA.  41 

given.  The  people  of  the  territories  or  three  lower 
counties  were  still  restive  under  the  forced  union 
with  Pennsylvania,  and  Penn  made  provisions  for 
their  permanent  separation  in  legislation,  in  1702, 
and  the  first  independent  legislature  in  Delaware 
was  assembled  at  New  Castle  in  1703.  Although 
Philadelphia  and  Delaware  ever  afterward  con 
tinued  to  have  separate  legislatures,  they  were  un 
der  the  same  government  until  the  ^Revolution  in 
1776. 

Shortly  after  Penn's  arrival  in  America,  he  re 
ceived  tidings  that  measures  were  pending  before 
the  privy  council,  for  bringing  all  of  the  proprietary 
governments  under  the  crown.  Penn  located  in 
Philadelphia,  declaring  it  his  intention  to  live 
and  die  there.  He  erected  an  excellent  brick 
house  on  the  corner  of  Second  Street  and  Norris 
Alley. 

Disparaging  news  from  his  native  land  determined 
him  to  return  to  England,  which  he  did  in  1701, 
where  he  succeeded  in  setting  matters  to  rights. 
He  never  returned  to  America.  Harassed  and 
wearied  by  business  connected  with  his  province, 
he  was  making  arrangements  in  1712  to  sell  it  for 
sixty  thousand  dollars,  when  he  was  prostrated 
with  paralysis.  He  survived  the  first  shock  six 
years,  though  he  never  fully  recovered,  then  he 
died,  leaving  his  estates  in  America  to  his  three 


42  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

sons.  His  family  governed  Pennsylvania,  as  pro 
prietors,  until  the  Revolution  made  it  an  indepen 
dent  State,  in  1776.  During  that  time  the  great 
province  of  Pennsylvania  had  borne  its  share  of 
troubles  with  the  French  and  Indians. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    INDENTED    SLAVE. 

Heaven  from  all  creatures  hides  the  book  of  fate, 
All  but  the  page  prescribed,  their  present  state  : 
From  brutes  what  men,  from  men  what  spirits  know  ; 
Or  who  could  suffer  being  here  below? 
The  lamb  thy  riot  dooms  to  bleed  to-day, 
Had  he  thy  reason,  would  he  skip  and  play? 
Pleased  to  the  last,  he  crops  the  flowery  food, 
And  licks  the  hand  just  raised  to  shed  his  blood. 

— POPE. 

THAT  which  was  most  dreaded  in  New  England 
and  all  the  American  colonies  came  to  pass. 
Charles  II.  died,  and  his  brother  James,  Duke  of 
York,  was  crowned  King  of  England.  On  ascend 
ing  the  throne,  the  very  first  act  of  James  II.  was 
one  of  honest  but  imprudent  bigotry.  Incapable 
of  reading  the  signs  of  the  times,  or  fully  prepared 
to  dare  the  worst  that  those  signs  could  portend, 
James  immediately  sent  his  agent  Caryl  to  Rome, 
to  apologize  to  the  pope  for  the  long  and  flagrant 
heresy  of  England,  and  to  endeavor  to  procure  the 
re-admission  of  the  English  people  into  the  com- 

43 


44  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

munion  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  pope  was 
more  politic  than  the  king  and  returned  him  a  very 
cool  answer,  implying  that  before  he  ventured  upon 
so  arduous  an  enterprise  as  that  of  changing  the 
professed  faith  of  nearly  his  entire  people,  he  would 
do  well  to  sit  down  and  calculate  the  cost. 

The  foolish  king,  who  stopped  at  nothing,  not 
even  the  mild  rebuke  of  the  holy  father,  would 
not  open  his  eyes,  and  as  a  natural  result  he  was 
soon  cordially  hated  by  nearly  all  his  subjects. 
His  brother  had  left  an  illegitimate  son  called  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth,  who  was  encouraged  to  attempt 
to  seize  the  throne  of  his  uncle.  At  first  the  cause 
of  the  duke  seemed  prosperous.  His  army  swelled 
from  hundreds  to  thousands;  but,  owing  to  his  lack 
of  energy  and  fondness  for  pleasure,  he  delayed 
and  gave  the  royal  armies  time  to  recruit.  He  was 
attacked  at  Sedgemore,  near  Bridgewater,  and, 
owing  to  the  perfidity  or  cowardice  of  Gray,  his 
cavalry  general,  the  rebels  were  defeated.  Mon 
mouth  was  captured,  and  his  uncle  ordered  him 
beheaded,  which  was  done. 

Then  commenced  the  most  barbarous  punishment 
of  rebels  ever  known.  An  officer  named  Kirk 
was  sent  by  the  king  to  hunt  down  the  Monmouth 
rebels,  or  those  sympathizing  with  them.  His 
atrocious  deeds  would  fill  a  volume,  and  are  so 
revolting  as  to  seem  incredible.  Another  brutal 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  45 

ruffian  of  the  time  was  Judge  Jeffries.  The 
judicial  ermine  has  often  been  disgraced  by  preju 
diced  judges;  but  Jeffries  was  the  worst  monster 
that  ever  sat  on  the  bench.  He  hung  men  with 
as  much  relish  as  did  Berkeley  of  Virginia.  His 
term  was  called  the  "bloody  assizes,"  and  to  this 
day  the  name  of  Judge  Jeffries  is  applied  in 
reproach  to  the  scandalous  ruling  of  a  partial 
judiciary. 

The  accession  of  James  II.  made  fewer  changes 
in  the  American  colonies  than  was  anticipated. 
Perhaps,  had  his  reign  been  longer,  the  changes 
would  have  been  greater.  The  suppression  of  Mon- 
mouth's  rebellion  gave  to  the  colonies  many  useful 
citizens.  Men  connect  themselves,  in  the  eyes  of 
posterity,  with  the  objects  in  which  they  take 
delight.  James  II.  was  inexorable  toward  his 
brother's  favorites.  Monmouth  was  beheaded,  and 
the  triumph  of  legitimacy  was  commemorated  by  a 
medal,  representing  the  heads  of  Monmouth  and 
Argyle  on  an  altar,  their  bleeding  bodies  beneath, 
with  the  following:  " Sic aras et  sceptra  tuemur. " 
("Thus  we  defend  our  altars  and  our  throne.") 

"  Lord  chief  justice  is  making  his  campaign  in 
the  west,"  wrote  James  II.  to  one  in  Europe,  re 
ferring  to  Jeffries'  circuit  for  punishing  the  insur 
gents.  "  He  has  already  condemned  several  hun 
dreds,  some  of  whom  we  are  already  executed, 


46  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

more  are  to  be,  and  the  others  sent  to  the  planta 
tions.  "  The  prisoners  condemned  to  transportation 
were  a  salable  commodity.  Such  was  the  demand 
for  labor  in  America  that  convicts  and  laborers 
were  regularly  purchased  and  shipped  to  the  colonies 
where  they  were  sold  as  indented  servants.  The 
courtiers  round  James  II.  exulted  in  the  rich  har 
vest  which  the  rebellion  promised,  and  begged  of 
the  monarch  frequent  gifts  of  their  condemned 
countrymen.  Jeffries  heard  of  the  scramble,  and 
indignantly  addressed  the  king: 

"I  beseech  your  majesty,  that  I  inform  you,  that 
each  prisoner  will  be  worth  ten  pound,  if  not  fifteen 
pound,  apiece,  and,  sir,  if  your  majesty  orders 
these  as  you  have  already  designed,  persons  that 
have  not  suffered  in  the  service  will  run  away  with 
the  booty."  Under  this  appeal  of  the  lord  chief 
justice  the  spoils  were  divided  and  his  honor  was 
in  part  gratified.  Many  of  the  convicts  were  per 
sons  of  family  and  education,  and  were  accustomed 
to  ease  and  elegance. 

"Take  all  care,"  wrote  the  monarch,  under  the 
countersign  of  Sunderland,  to  the  government  in 
Virginia,  "  take  all  care  that  they  continue  to  serve 
for  ten  years  at  least,  and  that  they  be  not  per 
mitted  in  any  manner  to  redeem  themselves  by 
money  or  otherwise,  until  that  term  be  fully  ex 
pired.  Prepare  a  bill  for  the  assembly  of  our 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  47 

colony,  with  such  clauses  as  shall  be  requisite  for 
this  purpose." 

No  legislature  in  any  of  the  American  colonies 
seconded  such  malice,  for  the  colonies  were  never 
in  full  accord  with  James  II.  Tyranny  and  injus 
tice  peopled  America  with  men  nurtured  to  suffer 
ing  and  adversity.  The  history  of  our  colonization 
is  the  history  of  the  crimes  of  Europe,  and  some  of 
the  best  families  in  America  are  descended  from 
the  indented  servants  of  the  Old  World. 

In  Bristol,  kidnapping  had  become  common,  and 
not  only  felons,  but  young  persons  of  birth  and 
education  were  hurried  across  the  Atlantic  and  sold 
for  money. 

Never  did  a  king  prove  a  greater  tyrant  or  more 
inhuman  and  cruel  than  James  II.  After  the  in 
surrection  of  Monmouth  had  been  suppressed,  all 
the  sanguinary  excesses  of  despotic  revenge  were 
revived.  Gibbets  were  erected  in  villages  to  intimi 
date  the  people,  and  soldiers  were  intrusted  with 
the  execution  of  the  laws.  Scarce  a  Presbyterian 
family  in  Scotland,  but  was  involved  in  proscrip 
tion  or  penalties.  The  jails  were  overflowed,  and 
their  tenants  were  sent  as  slaves  to  the  colonies. 
Maddened  by  the  succession  of  murders;  driven 
from  their  homes  to  caves,  from  caves  to  morasses 
and  mountains;  death  brought  to  the  inmates  of  a 
house  that  should  shelter  them ;  death  to  the  bene- 


48  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

factor  that  should  throw  them  food;  death  to  the 
friend  that  listened  to  their  complaint;  death  to 
the  wife  or  parent  that  still  dared  to  solace  husband 
or  son;  ferreted  out  by  spies;  hunted  with  dogs;— 
the  fanatics  turned  upon  their  pursuers,  and  threat 
ened  to  retaliate  on  the  men  who  should  still  con 
tinue  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  blood.  The  council 
retorted  by  ordering  a  massacre.  He  that  would 
not  take  the  oath  should  be  executed,  though  un 
armed,  and  the  recusants  were  shot  on  the  roads, 
or  as  they  labored  in  the  field,  or  stood  at  prayer. 
To  fly  was  admission  of  guilt;  to  excite  suspicion 
was  sentence  of  death;  to  own  the  covenant  was 
treason. 

Sometimes  the  lot  of  an  indented  slave  was  a 
happy  one.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of  fugitives 
flying  from  persecution  came  to  the  New  World, 
while  thousands  of  others  were  sent  as  convicts. 

Virginia  received  her  share  of  the  latter. 

One  bright  spring  morning  a  ship  from  England 
entered  the  James  River  with  a  number  of  these  in 
dented  slaves  to  be  sold  to  the  planters.  Notice  had 
been  given  of  the  intended  sale  and  many  planters 
came  to  look  at  the  poor  wretches  huddled  together 
like  so  many  beasts  in  an  old  shed,  and  guarded  by 
soldiers.  Mr.  Thomas  Hull,  a  planter  of  consider 
able  means,  and  a  man  noted  for  his  iron  will,  was 
among  those  who  came  to  make  purchases. 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  49 

"Well,  Thomas,  have  you  looked  over  the  lot?" 
asked  another  planter. 

"No,  Bradley,  have  you?" 

"Yes,  though  I  am  shortened  in  money,  and  un 
able  to  purchase  to-day." 

"Well,  Bradley,  what  have  you  seen  among 
them?" 

"There  are  many  fine,  lusty  fellows;  but  I  was 
most  interested  and  grieved  in  one." 

"Why?" 

"  He  is  a  man  who  has  known  refinement  and 
ease,  is  perchance  thirty-five  and  has  with  him  a 
child." 

"A  child?" 

"  Yes,  a  maid  not  to  exceed  ten  years,  but  very 
beautiful  with  her  golden  hair  and  soft  blue  eyes." 

"Is  the  child  a  slave?" 

"No." 

"Then  wherefore  is  it  here?"  asked  Hull. 

"His  is  truly  a  pathetic  story  as  I  have  heard  it. 
It  seems  he  was  a  widower  with  his  child  wander 
ing  about  the  country,  when  he  fell  in  with  some 
of  the  Duke  of  Momnouth's  people  and  enlisted. 
He  was  captured  at  Sedgemore,  and  condemned  by 
Jeffries.  The  child  was  left  to  wander  at  will ;  but 
by  some  means  she  accompanied  her  father,  managed 
to  smuggle  herself  on  shipboard,  and  was  not  dis 
covered  until  the  vessel  was  well  out  to  sea.  Then 
4 


60  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  captain,  who  was  a  humane  man,  permitted 
them  to  remain  together  to  the  end  of  the  voyage. 
She  is  with  her  father  now,  and  a  prettier  little 
maid  I  never  saw." 

"By  the  mass!  I  will  go  and  see  her,"  cried 
Hull.  "If  she  be  all  you  say,  I  will  buy  them 
both." 

"  But  she  is  not  for  sale." 

"Wherefore  not?" 

"She  was  not  adjudged  by  the  court." 

With  the  cold,  heartless  laugh  of  a  natural 
tyrant,  Hull  answered: 

"  It  will  be  all  the  same.  He  who  purchases  the 
father  will  have  the  maid  also." 

He  went  to  the  place  where  the  slaves  were  con 
fined  and  gazed  on  the  lot,  very  much  as  a  cattle 
dealer  might  look  upon  a  herd  he  contemplated 
purchasing.  His  gaze  soon  fastened  on  a  fine, 
manly  person  in  whose  proud  eye  the  sullen  fires 
were  but  half  subdued.  He  stood  with  his  arms 
folded  across  his  broad  chest  and  his  eye  fixed  upon 
a  beautiful  girl  at  his  side. 

The  captive  spoke  not.  A  pair  of  handcuffs 
were  on  his  wrists,  and  the  chains  came  almost  to 
the  ground ;  but  slavery  and  chains  could  not  sub 
due  the  proud  captive. 

Hull  delighted  in  punishing  those  whom  he  dis 
liked.  He  was  a  papist  at  heart  and  consequently 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  51 

in  sympathy  with  James  II.,  so  for  this  indented 
slave  he  incurred  from  the  very  first  a  most  bitter 
dislike.  When  the  slave  was  brought  forth  to  be 
sold,  he  bid  twelve  pounds  for  him.  This  was 
two  pounds  more  than  the  required  price,  and  he 
became  the  purchaser. 

"You  are  mine,"  cried  Hull  to  the  servant. 
"Come  with  me."  The  father  turned  his  great 
brown  eyes  dim  with  moisture  upon  his  child,  and 
Hull,  interpreting  the  look,  added,  "Hold,  I  will 
buy  the  maid  also." 

"She  cannot  be  sold,"  the  officer  in  charge  of 
the  slaves  answered,  "unless  the  master  of  the  ship 
sees  fit  to  sell  her  for  passage  money." 

The  master  of  the  ship  was  present  and  declared 
he  would  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 

"I  will  take  her  back  to  England,  if  she  wishes 
to  return,"  he  added. 

The  child  was  speechless,  her  great  blue  eyes 
fixed  on  her  father. 

"  What  will  you  do  with  the  maid?"  asked  Hull, 
who,  having  the  father,  felt  sure  the  child  would 
follow. 

"  I  will  return  her  to  England  free  of  charge,  if 
she  wills  it." 

"Who  will  care  for  her  there?"  asked  Hull. 
"Do  you  know  her  relatives?" 

"No;  all  are  strangers  to  me." 


52  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

The  father,  with  his  proud  breast  heaving  with 
tumultuous  emotion,  stood  silently  gazing  on  the 
scene.  He  was  a  slave  and  he  remembered  that  a 
slave  must  not  speak  unless  permission  be  granted 
him  by  his  master;  but  it  was  his  child,  the  only 
link  that  bound  him  to  earth,  whose  fate  they  were 
to  decide,  and,  had  he  been  unfettered,  he  might 
have  clasped  her  to  his  bosom. 

"Speak  with  the  maid,"  suggested  a  by-stander, 
"and  see  if  she  has  a  friend  in  England  who  will 
care  for  her." 

The  master  of  the  ship  went  to  the  bewildered 
child  and,  taking  her  little  hand  in  his  broad  palm, 
said: 

"  Sweet  little  maid,  you  are  not  afraid  to  trust 
me?" 

She  turned  her  great  blue  eyes  up  to  him  and, 
in  a  whisper,  answered: 

"I  am  not." 

"  Have  you  a  mother?" 

"No." 

"Have  you  any  friends  in  England?" 

"None,  since  my  father  came  away." 

"  Where  did  you  live  before  your  father  enlisted 
in  the  army  of  Monmouth?" 

"  We  travelled;  we  lived  at  no  one  place." 

"Have  you  no  friends  or  relatives  in  England?" 

"None." 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  53 

The  captain  then  asked  permission  to  talk  with 
the  father.  The  permission  was  given  by  Hull, 
for  he  saw  that  his  slave  had  the  sympathy  of  all 
present,  and  it  would  not  be  safe  to  refuse  him 
some  privileges.  The  master  of  the  vessel  and  the 
magistrate  who  had  superintended  the  selling  of 
the  slaves  for  the  crown  found  the  slave  a  very  in 
telligent  gentleman.  He  said  he  had  but  one  rela 
tive  living  so  far  as  he  knew.  He  had  a  brother 
who  had  come  to  America  two  or  three  years  be 
fore  ;  but  he  had  not  heard  from  him,  and  he  might 
be  dead. 

"  Do  you  know  any  one  in  England  to  whom 
your  child  could  be  sent?" 

"I  do  not." 

"What  were  you  doing  before  you  entered  the 
duke's  army?" 

"I  was  a  strolling  player,"  the  man  answered, 
his  fine  tragic  eyes  fixed  firmly  on  the  officers. 
"My  company  had  reached  a  town  one  day,  in 
which  we  were  to  play  at  night,  and  just  as  I  was 
getting  ready  to  go  to  the  theatre,  the  Duke  of 
Monmouth  entered.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Sedge- 
more,  and  I  was  forced  to  join  him.  My  child 
followed  on  foot  and  watched  the  battle  as  it  raged. 
When  it  was  over  I  could  have  escaped,  had  I  not 
come  upon  Cora,  who  was  seeking  me.  I  took 
her  up  in  my  arms  and  was  hurrying  away,  when 


54  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  cavalry  of  the  enemy  overtook  me  and  I  was 
made  a  prisoner." 

The  simple  story  made  an  impression  on  all  who 
heard  it  save  the  obdurate  master.  The  magistrate 
asked  the  slave  what  he  would  have  done  with  his 
child. 

"  Let  her  stay  in  the  colony  until  my  term  of 
service  is  ended,  then  I  will  labor  to  remunerate 
any  who  would  keep  her." 

At  this  Hull  said  he  would  take  the  maid,  and 
she  might  always  be  near  the  father.  All  who 
knew  Hull  looked  with  suspicion  on  the  proposition. 

A  new-comer  had  arrived  on  the  scene.  This 
was  a  young  man  of  about  the  same  age  as  the 
prisoner.  He  was  a  wealthy  Virginian  named 
Robert  Stevens,  noted  for  his  kindness  of  heart  and 
charity.  He  did  not  arrive  on  the  scene  until  after 
the  indented  slave  had  been  sold ;  but  he  soon  heard 
the  story  of  the  captive  from  Sedgemore  and  his 
child.  Robert  Stevens'  heart  at  once  went  out  to 
these  unfortunates,  and  he  resolved  on  a  scheme  to 
make  the  father  practically  free. 

"Has  the  slave  been  sold?"  he  asked. 

"He  has,  and  I  am  the  purchaser,"  answered 
Hull. 

"How  much  did  you  give  for  him?" 

"Twelve  pounds." 

"I  will  give  fifty." 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  55 

"He  is  already  sold,"  repeated  Hull  exultingly. 
He  despised  Robert  Stevens  for  his  wealth  and 
popularity.  To  have  purchased  a  slave  whom 
Robert  Stevens  wanted,  was  great  glory  for  Hull. 

"  Fear  not,  good  man,"  said  Robert  to  the  unfor 
tunate  slave.  "I  have  money  enough  to  purchase 
your  freedom." 

Unfortunately  those  words  fell  on  the  ears  of 
Thomas  Hull,  and  he  answered: 

"  It  is  the  order  of  the  king  that  all  serve  their 
term  out,  and  none  be  allowed  to  purchase  their 
freedom." 

"  I  will  give  you  one  hundred  pounds  for  the 
slave,"  cried  Robert. 

"No." 

"A  thousand!" 

"Robert  Stevens,  for  some  reason  you  want  this 
slave  restored  to  liberty." 

"  No.  Sell  him  to  me,  and  he  shall  serve  out 
his  term." 

"  I  understand  your  plan.  You  would  make  his 
servitude  a  luxury.  You  cannot  have  the  slave  for 
a  hundred  times  the  sum  you  offer.  By  law,  the 
convict  is  fairly  mine  until  he  hath  fully  served  his 
term.  I  am  not  so  heartless  as  you  deem  me.  His 
child  can  go  to  my  house,  where  she  will  be  cared 
for." 

"  No,  no,  no!"  cried  the  captive,  his  eyes  turned 


66  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

appealingly  to  Robert  Stevens.  "You  take  her; 
you  take  her.  Go  with  him,  Cora." 

The  child  sprang  to  the  side  of  Robert  Stevens, 
for  already  she  had  come  to  dread  the  man  who 
was  her  father's  master.  Hull's  face  was  black 
with  rage.  He  bit  his  lips,  but  said  nothing. 
With  his  .slave,  he  hurried  home. 

The  name  of  the  slave  was  George  Waters,  and 
he  was  soon  to  learn  the  weight  of  a  master's  hand. 

Thomas  Hull  was  the  owner  of  negro  slaves,  as 
well  as  white  indented  servants,  and  he  made  no 
distinction  between  them.  George  Waters,  proud, 
noble  as  he  was,  was  set  to  work  with  the  filthy 
negroes  in  the  tobacco  fields.  The  half-savage  bar 
barians,  with  their  ignorance  and  naturally  low 
instincts,  were  intended  to  humiliate  the  refined 
gentleman. 

"You  is  one  of  us,"  said  a  negro.  "What  am 
your  name?" 

"George  Waters." 

"George — George,  dat  am  my  name,  too,"  said 
the  negro,  leaning  on  his  hoe.  "D'ye  suppose  we 
is  brudders?" 

"No." 

"Well,  why  is  we  bofe  called  George?" 

"I  don't  know." 

The  overseer  came  along  at  this  moment  and 
threatened  them  with  the  lash,  if  they  did  not  cease 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  57 

talking  and  attend  to  their  work.  Again  and  again 
was  the  proud  George  Waters  subjected  to  indig 
nities,  until  he  could  scarcely  restrain  himself  from 
knocking  Martin,  his  overseer,  down,  and  selling 
his  life  in  the  defence  of  his  liberty ;  but  he  remem 
bered  Cora,  and  resolved  to  bear  taunts  and  indig 
nities  for  her  sake,  until  his  term  of  service  was 
ended.  His  only  comfort  was  that  his  child  was 
well  cared  for. 

He  had  been  a  year  and  a  half  on  the  upper 
plantation  of  Thomas  Hull,  and  though  he  had 
demeaned  himself  well,  and  had  done  the  labor  of 
two  ordinary  men — though  he  had  never  uttered  a 
word  of  complaint,  no  matter  what  burdens  were 
laid  upon  him,  his  natural  pride  and  nobility  of 
character  won  the  hatred  of  the  overseer.  The 
fellow  had  a  violent  temper  and  hated  George 
Waters. 

One  day,  from  no  provocation  at  all,  he  threat 
ened  to  beat  Waters.  The  servant  snatched  the 
whip  from  his  hand  and  said: 

"  I  would  do  you  no  harm,  sir.  I  have  always 
performed  my  tasks  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and 
never  have  I  complained;  but  if  you  so  much  as 
give  me  one  stroke,  I  will  kill  you." 

There  was  fire  in  his  eye  and  an  earnestness  in 
his  voice,  which  awed  the  cowardly  overseer;  but 
at  the  same  time  they  increased  his  hatred.  He 


68  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

resolved  to  be  revenged,  and  reported  to  Hull  that 
the  slave  was  rebellious.  Hull  permitted  George 
Waters  to  be  tied  to  a  tree  by  four  stout  negroes, 
whose  barbarous  natures  delighted  in  such  work, 
and  the  overseer  laid  a  whip  a  dozen  times  about 
his  bare  shoulders.  No  groan  escaped  his  lips. 
For  three  days  he  lay  about  his  miserable  lodge 
waiting  for  his  wounds  to  heal,  and  meanwhile 
made  up  his  mind  to  fly  from  the  colony. 

He  had  heard  that  a  society  of  Friends,  or 
Quakers,  had  formed  a  colony  to  the  north,  which 
was  called  Pennsylvania;  and  he  knew  that  they 
would  succor  a  slave.  As  soon  as  he  was  well 
enough,  he  stole  from  a  cabin  a  gun,  a  knife  and 
some  ammunition,  and  set  out  in  the  night  to  find 
the  plantation  of  Robert  Stevens,  where  Cora  was. 
His  escape  was  discovered  and  the  overseer,  with 
Thomas  Hull,  set  out  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  fugitive. 
At  dawn  of  day  they  came  in  sight  of  him  in  the 
forest  on  the  Lower  James  River  and,  being  on 
horseback,  gave  chase. 

"Keep  away!  keep  back!"  cried  the  fugitive, 
"or  I  will  not  answer  for  the  consequences,"  and 
he  brandished  his  gun  in  the  air.  The  overseer 
was  armed  with  pistols  and,  drawing  one,  galloped 
up  to  within  a  hundred  paces  of  the  fugitive  and 
fired,  but  missed.  Quick  as  thought,  George 
Waters  raised  his  gun  and,  taking  aim  at  the  breast 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  59 

of  his  would-be  slayer,  shot  him  dead  from  the 
saddle. 

The  body  fell  to  the  ground,  and  the  frightened 
horse  wheeled  about  and  ran  away.  Thomas  Hull, 
who  was  a  coward,  awed  by  the  fate  of  his  over 
seer,  turned  and  fled  as  rapidly  as  his  horse  could 

go- 
Horrified  at  what  he  had  done,   and  knowing 

that  death,  sure  and  swift,  would  follow  his  cap 
ture,  George  Waters  turned  and  fled  down  the 
James  River.  Some  guardian  angel  guided  his 
footsteps,  for  he  found  himself  one  night,  almost 
starved,  faint  and  weak,  at  the  plantation  of  Robert 
Stevens.  George  was  driven  to  desperate  straits 
when  he  accosted  the  wealthy  planter  and  asked 
for  food.  Robert  recognized  him  as  the  father  of 
the  little  maid  whom  he  had  taken  to  his  home 
as  one  of  his  family. 

"I  have  heard  all;  you  must  not  be  seen,"  said 
Robert.  Then  he  conducted  him  to  an  apartment 
of  his  large  manor  house.  "Are  you  hungry?" 

"I  am  starving." 

Robert  brought  him  food  with  his  own  hands 
and,  as  he  ate,  asked: 

"Do  you  want  to  see  Cora?" 

"May  I?" 

"Yes." 

"  I  am  a  slave  and  a — a " 


60  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"  I  know  what  you  would  say.  Do  not  say  it, 
for  you  slew  only  in  self-defence." 

"But  I  will  be  hanged  if  found." 

"  You  shall  not  be  found.  Heaven  help  me,  if 
I  shield  a  real  criminal  from  justice;  but  he  who 
strikes  a  blow  for  liberty  is  worthy  of  aid." 

After  the  fugitive  had  in  a  measure  satisfied  his 
hunger,  Robert  said: 

"You  will  need  sleep  and  rest,  after  which  you 
must  prepare  for  a  long  journey." 

"Whither  shall  I  go?" 

"  To  Massachusetts.  I  have  relatives  in  Salem, 
where  you  will  be  safe." 

"Safe!" 

He  repeated  the  word  as  if  it  were  a  glorious 
dream — a  vision  never  to  be  realized. 

"Yes,  you  will  be  safe;  but  as  you  must  make 
the  journey  through  a  vast  forest,  you  will  need  to 
be  refreshed  by  rest  and  food." 

The  wild-eyed  fugitive,  with  his  face  haggard  as 
death,  seized  the  arm  of  his  benefactor  and  said: 

"They  will  come  and  slay  me  as  I  sleep." 

"Fear  not,  my  unfortunate  brother,  for  I  will 
put  you  in  a  chamber  where  none  save  myself  shall 
know  of  you." 

"And  my  child?" 

"She  shall  accompany  you  to  Salem." 

The  fugitive  said  no  more.    He  entrusted  every- 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  61 

thing  to  the  man  who  had  promised  to  save  him. 
He  was  led  up  two  flights  of  stairs,  when  they 
came  to  a  ladder  reaching  to  an  attic,  and  they 
went  up  this  attic  ladder  to  a  chamber,  where  there 
was  a  narrow  bed,  with  soft,  clean  sheets  and  pil 
lows,  the  first  the  prisoner  had  seen  in  the  New 
World. 

"You  can  sleep  here  in  perfect  security,"  said 
Robert.  "I  will  see  that  you  are  not  molested  by 
any  one." 

The  wayworn  traveller  threw  himself  on  the  bed 
and  fell  asleep. 

Stevens  went  below  and  told  his  wife  of  the  fugi 
tive.  Ester  Stevens  was  the  daughter  of  General 
Goffe,  the  regicide,  who  had  been  hunted  for  years 
by  Charles  II. ,  for  signing  the  death  warrant  of 
the  king's  father  and  serving  in  the  army  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  and  Mrs.  Stevens  could  sympathize  with 
a  political  fugitive.  They  ran  some  risk  in  keep 
ing  him  in  their  house;  but  as  a  majority  of  the 
colonists  had  been  in  sympathy  with  the  Duke  of 
Monmouth,  for  James  II.  had  few  friends  in  Vir 
ginia  and  Thomas  Hull  none,  their  risk  was  not  as 
great  as  it  might  seem. 

The  fugitive  late  next  day  awoke,  and  Robert 
carried  his  breakfast  to  him.  The  colony  was  wild 
with  excitement  over  the  escape  of  an  indented 
slave  and  the  killing  of  the  overseer.  Thomas 


62  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Hull  represented  the  crime  to  be  as  heinous  as  pos 
sible,  to  arouse  a  sympathy  for  himself  and  a  hatred 
for  the  escaped  slave.  Some  people  were  out 
spoken  in  the  belief  that  the  escaped  slave  should 
be  killed;  others  were  in  sympathy  with  him. 
They  reasoned  that  Hull  had  been  a  hard  master, 
and  that  this  poor  fellow  was  no  criminal,  but  a 
patriot,  for  which  he  had  been  adjudged  to  ten 
years'  penal  servitude. 

Many  of  the  searchers  came  to  the  mansion  house 
of  Stevens;  but  he  managed  to  put  them  off  the 
track. 

For  five  days  and  nights  George  Waters  remained 
in  the  attic.  On  the  sixth  night  Kobert  Stevens 
came  to  him  and  said: 

"You  must  now  set  out  on  your  journey." 

"But  Cora — can  I  see  her?" 

"  She  will  accompany  you.  Here  is  a  suit  of 
clothes  more  befitting  one  of  your  rank  and  station, 
than  the  garb  of  an  indented  slave."  He  placed  a 
riding  suit  with  top  boots  and  hat  in  the  apartment. 
When  he  had  attired  himself,  Robert  next  brought 
him  some  arms,  a  splendid  gun  and  a  brace  of 
pistols  of  the  best  make. 

"  You  may  have  need  of  these,"  said  the  planter. 
"You  will  also  find  holsters  in  the  saddle." 

"And  does  Cora  know  of  this?" 

"I  have  told  her  all." 


THE  INDENTED  SLAVE.  63 

The  father  shuddered.  In  the  pride  of  his  soul, 
he  remembered  that  he  was  a  slave,  had  felt  the 
lash,  and  was  humiliated. 

Under  a  wide-spreading  chestnut  near  the  plant 
er's  mansion,  stood  three  horses  ready  saddled.  A 
faithful  negro  slave  was  holding  them,  and  the  little 
maid,  clothed  for  a  long  journey,  awaited  her 
father's  arrival.  A  fourth  horse  was  near  on  which 
were  a  pack  of  provisions  and  a  small  camping  outfit. 

The  father  and  child  met  and  embraced  in  silence, 
and,  had  she  not  felt  a  tear  on  her  face,  she  would 
hardly  have  known  that  he  was  so  greatly  agitated. 

"  We  will  mount  and  be  far  on  the  journey  be 
fore  the  day  dawns,"  said  Robert. 

"Do  you  go  with  us?"  asked  George  Waters. 

"  Certainly.  I  know  the  country  and  will  guide 
you  beyond  danger." 

They  mounted  and  travelled  all  night  long.  At 
early  dawn,  they  halted  only  to  refresh  themselves 
with  a  cold  breakfast,  and  pushed  on. 

Three  days  Robert  journeyed  with  them,  and 
then,  on  the  border  of  Maryland,  he  halted  and 
told  them  of  a  land  now  within  their  reach,  where 
the  Quakers  dwelt.  There  they  might  rest  until 
they  were  able  to  go  to  Massachusetts.  He  gave  a 
purse  of  gold  to  the  father,  saying: 

"  Take  it,  and  may  God  be  as  good  to  you  as  he 
has  been  to  me." 


64  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

The  fugitive  murmured  out  some  words  of  thanks ; 
but  his  benefactor  wheeled  his  steed  about  and  gal 
loped  away,  lest  the  words  of  gratitude  might  fall 
on  his  ears. 

"Let  us  go  on,  father,"  said  Cora. 

For  days,  Cora  Waters  could  never  tell  how  long, 
they  journeyed,  until  at  last,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Delaware,  they  came  upon  a  small  town  where 
dwelt  a  people  at  peace  with  all  the  world — the 
Quakers,  and  the  tired  child  and  her  father  were 
taken  in,  given  food  and  shelter,  Christian  sympa 
thy,  and  assured  of  safety. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

MR.    PARRIS    AND    FLOCK. 

And  false  the  light  on  glory's  plume, 

As  fading  hues  of  even, 
And  Love  and  Hope,  and  Beauty's  bloom, 
Are  blossoms  gathered  for  the  tomb,  — 

There's  nothing  bright  but  Heaven. 

— MOORE. 

THE  last  expiring  throe  of  a  mighty  superstition 
was  about  to  convulse  the  little  society  at  Salem, 
and,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  ignorance  and  preju 
dice  went  hand  in  hand  for  the  destruction  of  reason 
and  humanity.  The  last  of  the  great  religious  per 
secutions  was  to  begin,  when  eminent  divines  were 
to  stand  and  point  with  pride  to  the  swaying  bodies 
of  their  victims,  hanging  from  the  gibbet,  and  call 
them  "fire-brands  of  hell." 

In  the  village  of  Salem,  there  was  a  strife  between, 
Sa^rm^TP'arristhe  minister  and  a  part  of  his  people; 
a  strife  so  bitter,  that  it  had  even  attracted  the  at 
tention  of  a  general  court.  We  all  know,  even  in 
these  modern  days,  what  a  furor  can  be  created  in 
a  church,  when  a  part  of  the  organization  is  ar- 
5  65 


06  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

rayed  against  the  pastor.  Sometimes  the  divine 
shepherd  loses  his  temper  and  says  ugly  things 
against  his  flock,  and  thinks  many  which  he  does 
not  utter. 

Parris  was  a  man  filled  with  ambition  and  preju 
dice.  He  was  a  fanatic  and  easily  driven  to  frenzy 
by  opposition.  An  unfavorable  criticism  upset  his 
highly  nervous  organism,  and  he  set  out  to  find 
some  proof  in  the  Scriptures  for  condemning  his 
enemies.  It  never  entered  into  his  mind  to  love 
those  who  hated  him. 

Mr.  Parris  had  lived  in  the  West  Indies  for  sev 
eral  years  before  going  to  Salem,  and  had  brought 
with  him  some  slaves  purchased  from  the  Spaniards. 
Among  them  were  two  famous  in  history  as  John 
and  Tituba  his  wife.  Historians  disagree  as  to  the 
nationality  of  these  slaves.  Some  aver  they  were 
Indians,  others  call  them  negroes,  while  some  state 
they  were  half  and  half.  Whatever  may  have 
IHVH  tlu-ir  nationality,  their  practices  were  the 
feticliisin  of  western  Africa,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  negro  blood  predominated  in  their  veins. 
All  their  training,  their  low  cunning  and  beastly 
worship,  their  deception  and  treachery  were  utterly 
unlike  the  characteristics  of  the  early  aborigines  of 
America,  and  were  purely  African. 

John  and  Tituba  were  full  of  the  gross  supersti 
tions  of  their  people,  and  were  of  the  frame  and 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  67 

^temperament  best  adapted  to  the  practice  of  demon- 
ology. 

In  the  family  of  Samuel  Parris,  his  daughter,  a 
child  of  nine  years,  and  his  niece,  a  girl  of  less  than 
twelve,  began  to  have  strange  caprices.  During 
such  a  state  of  affairs  the  pastor  actually  permitted 
to  be  formed,  with  his  own  knowledge,  a  society 
of  young  girls  between  the  ages  of  eight  and 
eighteen  to  meet  at  the  parsonage,  strangely  resem 
bling  those  "  circles"  of  our  own  time  called  stances, 
for  spiritualistic  revelations.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  young  girls  were  laboring  under  a 
strong  nervous  and  mental  excitement,  which  was 
encouraged  rather  than  repressed  by  the  means  em 
ployed  by  their  spiritual  director.  Instead  of  treat 
ing  them  as  subjects  of  morbid  delusion,  Mr.  Parris 
regarded  them  as  victims  of  external  and  diabolical 
influence,  and  strangely  enough  this  influence,  on 
the  evidence  of  the  children  themselves,  was  sup 
posed  to  be  exercised  by  some  of  the  most  pious 
and  respectable  people  of  the  community.  As  it 
was  those  who  opposed  Mr.  Parris,  who  fell  under 
the  ban  of  suspicion,  there  is  room  to  suspect  the 
reverent  Mr.  Parris  with  making  a  strong  effort  to 
gratify  his  revenge. 

Many  a  child  has  had  its  early  life  blighted  and 
its  nerves  shattered  by  a  ghost-believing  and  ghost- 
story-telling  nurse. 


08  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

No  class  of  people  is  more  superstitious  in  re 
gard  to  ghosts  and  witches  than  negroes.  What 
ever  fetich  ideas  may  have  been  among  the  Indians 
of  the  New  World,  many  more  were  imbibed  from 
the  Africans  with  whom  they  early  came  in 
contact. 

Old  Tituba  was  a  horrid-looking  creature.  If 
ever  there  was  a  witch  on  earth,  she  was  one,  and 
as  she  crouched  in  one  corner,  smoking  her  clay 
pipe,  her  eyes  closed,  telling  her  weird  stories  to 
the  girls,  no  one  can  wonder  that  they  were  strangely 
affected. 

"  Now,  chillun,  lem  me  tell  ye,  dat  ef  ebber  a 
witch  catches  ye,  and  pinches  ye,  and  sticks  pins 
in  ye,  ye  won't  see  'em,  ye  won't  see  nobody,  ye 
won't  see  nuffin,"  said  old  Tituba. 

"  What  should  we  do  if  a  witch  were  to  catch  us, 
Tituba?"  asked  Abigail  Williams,  the  niece  of  Mr. 
Parris. 

"  Dar  but  one  thing  to  do,  chile.  Dat  am  to 
burn  de  witch  or  hang  'em." 

"Are  there  witches  now?" 

"  Yes,  dar  be  plenty.  I  see  'em  ob  night.  Doan 
ye  nebber  see  a  black  man  in  de  night?" 

The  children  were  all  silent,  until  one  little  girl, 
whose  imagination  was  very  vivid,  thought  she  had 
seen  a  black  man,  once. 

"  When  was  it?"  asked  Abigail  Williams. 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  69 

"One  night,  when  I  waked  out  of  my  sleep,  I 
saw  a  great  black  something  by  my  side." 

The  little  blue  eyes  opened  so  wide  and  looked 
with  such  earnestness  on  the  assembled  children, 
that  there  could  be  no  doubting  her  sincerity. 

"  Can  we  catch  witches?"  Abigail  asked  Tituba. 

"Yes." 

"How?" 

"Many  ways." 

Then  she  proceeded  to  tell  of  the  various  charms 
by  which  a  witch  might  be  detected,  such  as  draw 
ing  the  picture  of  the  person  accused  and  stabbing 
it  with  a  knife  of  silver,  or  shooting  it  with  a  silver 
bullet. 

"  Once,  when  a  witch  was  in  a  churn,  "  continued 
Tituba,  "and  no  butter  would  come,  den  de  man, 
he  take  some  hot  water  an'  pour  it  in  de  churn,  an' 
jist  den  dar  come  a  loud  noise  like  er  gun,  an'  dey 
see  er  cloud  erbove  de  churn.  Bye  um  bye,  dat 
cloud  turned  ter  er  woman's  head  an'  et  war  an  ole 
woman  wat  lib  in  der  neighborhood  and  war  called 
a  witch." 

"Is  that  true,  Tituba?"  asked  one  of  the  little 
girls. 

"It  am  so,  fur  er  sartin  sure  fact,  chile." 

Nothing  is  more  susceptible  than  a  young  im 
agination.  It  can  see  whatever  it  wills,  hear  what 
ever  is  desired,  and  like  wax  is  ready  to  receive 


70  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

any  impression  one  chooses  to  put  on  it.  A  child 
can  be  made  to  believe  it  sees  the  most  unnatural 
things,  and  in  a  few  days  Tituba  and  John  had 
thoroughly  convinced  the  children  that  they  saw 
spirits  and  witches  in  the  air  all  about  them. 

One  evening,  a  pretty  young  woman,  not  over 
twenty-one  or  two,  came  to  the  parsonage,  where 
the  witches  and  ghosts  had  been  holding  high  revel. 
She  was  a  brunette  with  a  dark  keen  eye  and  hair 
of  jet.  Her  face  was  lovely,  save  when  distorted 
by  passion,  and  her  form  was  faultless. 

"Sarah  Williams,  where  have  you  been,  that  we 
have  seen  nothing  of  you  for  a  fortnight?"  asked 
Mrs.  Parris  as  the  visitor  entered  the  house. 

"I  have  been  to  Boston,  and  but  just  came  back 
yesterday.  What  strange  things  have  been  tran 
spiring  since  I  left?" 

At  this  moment  a  door  opened  and  Mr.  Parris,  a 
tall,  pale  man,  entered  from  his  study.  The  new 
comer,  without  waiting  for  the  pastor's  wife  to  an 
swer  her  question,  rose  and,  grasping  the  hand  of 
her  spiritual  adviser,  cried: 

"Mr.  Parris,  how  pale  you  are!  but  then  I  can 
not  wonder  at  it,  when  I  consider  all  I  have  heard." 

"What  have  you  heard,  Sarah?"  he  asked. 

"  I  have  heard  you  are  having  trouble  in  your 
congregation." 

"Who  told  you?" 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  71 

"The  rumor  has  gone  all  over  the  country,  even 
reaching  Boston.  And  they  do  say  that  the  evil 
spirits  have  visited  Salem  to  defame  you." 

Mr.  Parris  pressed  his  thin  lips  so  firmly  that 
the  blood  seemed  to  have  utterly  forsaken  them, 
and  his  cold  gray  eye  was  kindled  with  a  subdued 
fire,  as  he  answered: 

"  I  am  far  from  insensible  that  at  this  extraordi 
nary  time  of  the  devil  coming  down  in  great  wrath 
upon  us,  there  are  too  many  tongues  and  hearts 
thereby  set  on  fire  of  hell." 

"  To  whom  can  you  trace  your  troubles?" 

"To  Goodwife  Nurse,"  answered  the  pastor. 
"It  is  that  firebrand  of  hell  who  seeks  to  ruin  me." 

"I  saw  Goody  Nurse,"  cried  one  of  the  smaller 
children. 

"When?"  asked  Mr.  Parris. 

"Last  night."" 

The  pastor,  the  visitor,  and  the  wife  exchanged 
significant  glances,  and  the  father  asked: 

"  Where  did  you  see  her?" 

"She  came  with  the  black  man  to  my  bed." 

"What  did  she  do?" 

"She  asked  me  to  sign  the  book." 

"What  book?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  it  was  a  red  book." 

The  anxious  mother,  in  a  fit  of  hysterics,  seized 
her  child  in  her  arms  and  cried: 


72  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"No,  no,  no!  don't  you  sign  the  book  and  sell 
your  immortal  soul,  child!"  and  she  gave  way  to  a 
fit  of  weeping,  which  unnerved  all  the  children, 
who  began  to  howl,  as  if  they  were  beset  by  demons. 
When  the  hubbub  was  at  its  height,  the  door  to  an 
adjoining  room  opened,  and  Tituba  and  John  stuck 
their  heads  into  the  room. 

"She  am  dar!  she  am  dar!"  cried  old  Tituba. 
"I  see  her!  I  see  dem  bofe!" 

"Yes,  I  see  um — see  um  bofe,  Tituba, "repeated 
John. 

"Who  do  you  see?"  asked  the  pastor. 

"See  de  black  man  and  Goody  Nurse." 

"Where?" 

"Dar." 

They  pointed  along  the  floor,  then  up  the  wall 
to  the  ceiling,  where  they  both  avowed  that  they 
saw  Goodwife  Nurse  and  the  black  man,  or  de 
mon,  dancing  with  their  heels  up  and  heads  down. 

The  negro  clapped  his  hands,  patted  his  foot  on 
the  floor  and  cried  aloud: 

"Doan  yer  see  um,  Marster?  doan  yer  see  um, 
chillun?" 

One  little  girl,  who  fixed  her  eyes  on  a  certain 
dark  corner  of  the  room,  thought  she  could  see  a 
shadow  moving  on  the  wall,  but  was  not  quite  cer 
tain.  The  pastor  was  overcome  by  the  presence  of 
the  prince  of  darkness  in  his  own  house,  and,  fall- 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  73 

ing  on  his  knees,  began  to  pray.  As  a  natural 
result,  when  all  minds  were  directed  to  one  chan 
nel,  as  they  were  by  prayer,  the  superstitious  feel 
ing  which  possessed  them  passed  away,  and  the 
household,  which  a  few  moments  ago  was  on  the 
verge  of  hysteria,  became  more  calm,  and  when  all 
rose  from  their  knees,  Mrs.  Parris  asked  her  visitor 
to  spend  the  evening  with  them. 

"I  fain  would  stay;  but  I  dread  the  long  walk 
home." 

"Samuel  will  accompany  you,  unless  Charles 
Stevens  comes,  as  he  promised.  In  case  he  should, 
he  can  go  with  you." 

At  the  mention  of  Charles  Stevens,  the  young 
woman's  eyes  grew  brighter,  and  her  face  became 
crimson. 

"  Sarah,  have  you  not  heard  from  your  husband?" 
asked  the  minister. 

"No;  he  is  dead." 

"Did  you  never  hear  of  the  pinnace?" 

"No;  but  it  was  no  doubt  lost." 

"How  long  since  he  left?" 

"  A  year.  He  went  to  New  York,  was  seen  to 
leave  that  port,  and  has  never  been  heard  from." 

"It  is  sad." 

"Verily,  it  is,"  and  Sarah  tried  hard  to  call  up 
a  tear,  and  wiped  her  eyes  with  the  corner  of  her 
apron. 


74  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

John  and  Tituba  had  retired  to  their  domain, 
the  kitchen,  to  conjure  up  more  demons  and  plan 
further  mischief. 

Mr.  Parris  could  not  keep  his  mind  long  from 
the  rebellious  members  of  his  flock.  "I  will  be 
avenged  on  them,"  he  thought.  "Verily,  I  will 
be  avenged  for  every  pang  they  have  made  me 
suffer." 

He  had  forgotten  the  command,  "Vengeance  is 
mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the  Lord." 

Sarah  Williams  proceeded  to  further  delve  into 
the  trouble  with  Mr.  Parris  and  his  church. 

"Is  Rebecca  Nurse  your  enemy?"  she  asked. 

"Verily,  she  is;  so  is  her  sister  Goodwife 
Corey." 

"  Why  are  they  your  enemies?" 

"  They  want  another  pastor,  and  have  done  all 
in  their  power  to  ruin  me." 

^Why  do  you  endure  it?"  asked  Sarah. 

"How  can  I  help  myself?  I  retain  my  charge 
ami  shall  retain  it,  despite  Goody  Nurse." 

At  this  the  youngest  child  said: 

"Goody  Nurse  was  at  church  last  Lord's  day 
with  a  yellow  bird." 

"A  yellow  bird?"  cried  all. 

"Yes;  I  saw  a  yellow  bird  fly  into  the  church 
and  light  on  her  shoulder." 

Tituba  had  told  the  poor  deluded  child  that  if 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  75 

Goodwife  Nurse  were  a  witch,  she  would  be  accom 
panied  by  a  yellow  bird. 

"Surely  you  saw  no  yellow  bird  last  Lord's 
day." 

"Verily,  I  did,  and  it  came  first  and  sat  on  her 
shoulder,  and  then  on  her  knee,  and,  while  father 
was  preaching,  it  whispered  in  her  ear." 

"  Could  you  hear  what  it  said?"  asked  the  pastor. 

"No,  for  I  was  not  near  enough." 

Then  the  pastor  and  his  wife  and  visitor  ex 
changed  glances.  Foolishly  credulous  and  blindly 
superstitious,  as  well  as  prejudiced,  their  minds 
were  like  the  fallow  ground  ready  to  receive  any 
impression,  however  silly. 

Before  more  could  be  said,  there  came  a  rap  at 
the  door,  and  Charles  Stevens,  the  lad  who  succored 
the  wounded  stranger  that  had  so  mysteriously  dis 
appeared,  entered.  Charles  was  almost  a  man,  and 
bid  fair  to  make  a  fine-looking  fellow.  He  was  tall 
and  muscular,  with  bold  gray  eyes  and  a  face  open 
and  manly.  He  had  lost  none  of  his  mirth,  and 
his  merry  whistle  still  shocked  some  of  the  staid 
old  Puritans. 

As  soon  as  Charles  entered,  the  young  widow 
rose,  all  blushing,  to  greet  him.  She  was  not 
more  than  one  or  two  years  his  senior,  and,  being 
still  beautiful,  there  was  a  possibility  of  her  entrap 
ping  the  youth. 


76  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

•  The  pastor  greeted  him  warmly  and  assured  him 
that  his  visit  was  most  opportune;  but  he  re 
gretted  very  much  that  he  had  not  come  an  hour 
sooner. 

"  Wherefore  would  you  have  had  me  come  an 
hour  sooner?"  asked  the  merry  Charles. 

"  That  you  might,  with  your  own  eyes,  behold 
some  of  the  wonderful  manifestations  of  the  prince 
of  darkness." 

With  a  laugh,  Charles  answered  that  such  mani 
festations  were  too  common  to  merit  much  comment; 
but  as  a  matter  of  course  he  asked  what  the  mani 
festations  were. 

"An  example  of  witchcraft." 

At  this  Charles  laughed,  and  Mr.  Parris  was 
shocked  at  his  scepticism. 

"Wherefore  do  you  laugh,  unregenerated 
youth?"  cried  the  pastor. 

"A  witch!  I  believe  there  are  no  witches,"  he 
answered. 

"  Would  you  believe  your  eyes,  young  sceptic?" 

"I  might  even  doubt  my  own  eyes." 

"Wherefore  would  you?" 

" Nothing  is  more  deceptive  than  sight;  optical 
delusions  are  common.  Did  you  see  a  witch?" 

"Not  myself;  but  others  did." 

"Who?" 

"John,  Tituba  and  Ann  Parris  saw  the  witches 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  77 

dancing  on  the  ceiling,  with  their  feet  up  and  their 
heads  down." 

At  this  Charles  Stevens  again  laughed  and  an 
swered  : 

"Verily  you  are  mad,  Mr.  Parris,  to  believe 
what  those  lying  negroes  say.  They  have  per 
suaded  the  child  into  the  belief  that  she  sees  strange 
sights." 

Mr.  Parris  became  greatly  excited  and  cried: 

"The  maid  sees  the  shape  of  Goody  Nurse  and 
the  black  man  at  night.  They  come  and  choke 
her,  to  make  her  sign  the  book." 

"What  book?" 

"  The  devil's  book.  Do  you  not  remember  some 
time  ago  a  stranger  was  at  your  house,  who  myste 
riously  disappeared?"  Of  course  Charles  remem 
bered.  He  had  never  forgotten  that  mysterious 
stranger,  and  often  wondered  what  had  been  his 
fate. 

"  The  same  shape  appeared  before  John  Louder 
in  the  forest,  where  he  had  gone  to  stalk  deer,  and 
asked  him  to  sign  the  red  book  in  which  is  recorded 
the  souls  of  the  damned." 

This  was  the  frightful  story  told  by  Louder  on 
his  return  from  the  night's  hunt,  and  many  of  the 
credulous  New  Englanders  believed  him.  Mr. 
Parris,  having  become  warmed  up  on  his  subject, 
resumed : 


78  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Charles,  Charles,  shake  off  the  hard  yoke  of 
the  devil.  Where  'tis  said,  'the  whole  world  lies 
in  wickedness,'  'tis  by  some  of  the  ancients  ren 
dered,  'the  whole  world  lies  in  the  devil.'  The 
devil  is  a  prince,  yea,  the  devil  is  a  god  unto  all 
the  unregenerate,  and,  alas,  there  is  a  whole  world 
of  them.  Desolate  sinner,  consider  what  a  horrid 
lord  it  is  you  are  enslaved  unto,  and  oh,  shake  off 
the  slavery  of  such  a  lord." 

Charles  was  unprepared  for  such  a  sermon,  and 
had  no  desire  to  be  bored  with  it,  yet  he  was  left 
without  choice  in  the  matter. 

The  young  widow  came  to  his  relief  and  took 
him  off  under  her  protection  and  soon  made  him 
forget  that  he  had  ever  been  rebuked  by  the  parson. 
Certainly,  he  had  never  met  a  more  agreeable  per 
son  than  Sarah  Williams.  Her  husband  was  a 
brother  of  Mrs.  Parris,  and  she  wielded  a  great  in 
fluence  in  the  minister's  family.  Gradually  she 
absorbed  more  and  more  of  Charles  Stevens'  society, 
telling  him  of  her  recent  visit  to  Boston,  and  of  the 
latest  news  from  England,  inquiring  about  his 
mother,  and  talking  only  on  the  subjects  which 
most  interested  him.  He  thought  her  a  charming 
woman. 

The  hour  was  late  ere  they  knew  it,  and  Puri 
tanic  New  England  was  an  enemy  to  late  hours. 
Sarah  declared  she  must  go  home. 


MR.  PARRIS  AND  FLOCK.  79 

"Come  again,  Sarah,"  said  Mrs.  Parris. 

"I  will.  Verily,  I  must  go;  but  see,  the  moon 
is  down,  how  dark  it  is." 

Charles  was  not  slower  to  take  the  hint  than  a 
young  man  of  our  own  day.  Humanity  has  been 
the  same  since  Eve  first  evinced  her  power  over 
Adam  in  the  garden.  Ever  since,  men  have  been 
led  by  a  pretty  face  often  to  their  ruin.  Charles, 
in  a  bashful,  awkward  way,  informed  the  young 
widow  that  he  was  going  the  same  road,  and  it 
would  not  be  much  out  of  his  way  to  accompany 
her  to  her  very  door.  Of  course  she  was  pleased, 
and  Charles  and  the  young  widow  went  away 
together. 

"  Have  you  never  learned  the  fate  of  your  hus 
band,  Sarah?"  he  asked. 

"No;  poor  Samuel  is  dead,"  she  answered. 

"  It  is  sad  that  you  know  not  his  fate.  Was  he 
drowned  at  sea,  killed  by  the  Indians,  or  murdered 
by  the  pirates?" 

"I  know  not.      I  am  very  lonely  now,  Charles." 

"I  pity  you." 

"Do  you?" 

"Verily,  I  do." 

"Thank  }^ou,  Charles." 

"  Your  parents  are  in  Boston,  are  they  not?" 

"Yes." 

"Do  you  intend  to  live  always  thus  alone?" 


80  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Oh,  I  trust  not,"  and  the  darkness  concealed 
the  sly  glance  which  Sarah  cast  from  her  great  dark 
eyes  on  the  unsuspecting  youth  at  her  side.  The 
conversation  was  next  changed  to  Mr.  Parris,  his 
quarrel  with  his  flock,  and  the  strange  phenomenon 
developing  at  his  house. 

"What  think  you  of  it,  Charles?" 

"It  is  a  sham." 

"  Oh,  no,  no!  John,  the  negro  man,  is  bewitched, 
and  has  fits." 

"  A  good  flogging  would  very  quickly  bring  him 
out  of  his  fits." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  door  of  Sarah 
Williams'  house.  She  turned  upon  the  youth  and, 
seizing  his  arm,  in  a  voice  trembling  with  emotion, 
said: 

"  Charles,  I  beseech  of  you,  as  you  love  life  and 
happiness,  do  not  say  aught  against  Mr.  Parris  or 
witchcraft.  We  stand  on  the  brink  of  something 
terrible,  and  no  one  knows  what  the  end  may  be." 

As  Charles  wended  his  way  homeward,  he  pon 
dered  over  the  strange  words  of  Sarah  Williams, 
and  asked  himself: 

"  What  does  she  mean?" 


CHAPTER    V. 

A   NIGHT    WITH    WITCHES.* 

As  bees  bizz  out  wi'  angry  fyke 
When  plundering  herds  assail  their  byke, 
As  open  pussies  mortal  foes, 
When,  pop  !  she  starts  before  their  nose, 
As  eager  runs  the  market  crowd, 
When,  "  Catch  the  thief  !"  resounds  aloud, 
So  Maggie  runs,  the  witches  follow, 
Wi'  monie  an  eldritch  skreech  and  hollow. 

— BURNS. 

MOST  people  are,  superstitious.  In  fact,  we 
might  put  it  stronger  and  say,  all  people  are  super 
stitious.  Superstition  is  natural,  and  so  long  as 
there  are  great  mysteries  unrevealed  to  man,  there 
will  be  superstition.  So  long  as  the  great  mysteries 
of  life  and  death  and  a  future  existence  are  shrouded 
in  the  unknown,  there  will  be  believers  in  the  super 
natural.  So  long  as  there  are  powers  and  forces 
not  understood,  they  will  be  attributed  to  unknown 

*  The  incidents  narrated  in  this  chapter  were  gathered 
from  Cotton  Mather's  "Invisible  World,"  and  legends  cur 
rent  at  the  time.     Strange  as  it  may  seem,  these  narratives 
were  believed,  and  some  are  from  sworn  testimony  in  court. 
6  81 


82  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

or  unnatural  causes.  Most  people  are  unwilling  to 
admit,  even  to  themselves,  that  they  are  supersti 
tious,  yet  somewhere  in  their  nature  will  be  found 
a  belief  in  some  odd  and  ludicrous  superstition. 
Many  have  a  dread  of  the  unlucky  number;  some 
will  not  commence  a  journey  on  Friday;  they  feel 
better  when  they  have  seen  the  new  moon  over 
their  right  shoulder,  and  when  the  matter  is  well 
sifted,  we  find  lurking  about  all  a  strange,  inex 
plicable  superstition. 

Two  hundred  years  ago,  superstition  was  far 
more  prevalent  than  at  present,  and  some  of  the 
wisest  and  best  of  that  day  possessed  the  oddest 
and  most  unreasonable  opinions. 

A  few  evenings  after  the  incidents  narrated  in 
the  foregoing  chapter,  Charles  Stevens,  who  had 
been  all  day  on  a  hunt,  at  night  found  himself  near 
an  old  deserted  house,  four  or  five  miles  from  town. 
The  house  had  been  built  by  some  Puritans,  years 
before,  and  the  family  which  had  lived  in  it  were 
murdered  by  Indians.  The  house  was  currently 
reported  at  the  village  to  be  haunted ;  but  Charles, 
who  was  not  a  believer  in  ghosts,  resolved  to  pass 
the  night  there,  in  preference  to  braving  a  threaten 
ing  thunderstorm. 

His  negro  man  Pete  was  with  him,  and  when 
he  told  Pete  to  gather  up  some  dry  wood,  the 
darkey,  with  eyes  protruding  from  his  head,  asked : 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  83 

"  Massa  Charles,  am  ye  gwine  to  stay  heah  all 
night?" 

"  Certainly,  Pete,  why  not?  A  storm  is  coming, 
and  we  could  not  reach  home  in  such  a  tempest." 

"But  dis  house  am  haunted." 

"Oh,  nonsense,  Pete.  Get  the  wood,  and  don't 
let  such  foolish  notions  as  ghosts  enter  your 
mind." 

Pete  reluctantly  obeyed,  and  Charles  went  into 
the  house  where  was  an  old  lamp  which  had  been 
left  there  by  hunters.  It  was  nearly  full  of  oil, 
and  he  lighted  it  by  aid  of  his  flint  and  steel. 

Some  rude  benches  and  three-legged  stools  con 
stituted  the  furniture.  Pete,  finding  that  nothing 
could  induce  his  master  to  go  on,  gathered  a  quan 
tity  of  dry  wood  before  the  rain  began  to  fall,  and 
started  a  fire. 

The  single  lamp,  burning  dimly  on  the  mantel, 
gave  a  weird  ghost-like  gleam,  and  Pete  shuddered 
as  he  glanced  into  the  dark  corners  and  the  black 
attic  above,  from  whence  his  fervid  imagination 
conjured  up  lost  spirits,  ghosts  and  goblins  ready 
to  seize  him  by  the  hair. 

Just  as  the  first  great  rain-drops  began  to  fall  on 
the  old  weather-beaten  roof  of  the  deserted  house, 
they  heard  the  rapid  tramp  of  feet  without.  Pete 
uttered  a  horrified  yell  and  sprang  into  the  chim 
ney,  where  he  was  trying  to  start  a  fire.  Charles 


84  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

told  him  to  refrain  from  his  silly  conduct  and  went 
to  the  door  to  see  who  their  visitors  were. 

"Charles,  Charles,  is  it  you?"  cried  a  voice 
which  he  recognized  as  John  Louder.  "  We  saw 
the  light  within  and  determined  to  seek  shelter." 

Louder  was  accompanied  by  his  neighbors  Ely 
and  Gray,  all  carrying  guns  and  some  small  game 
in  their  hands. 

"You  have  been  in  the  forest  to-day?" 

"Yes,  with  ill  luck,  too.  Marry!  I  trow, 
neighbors,  we  will  have  a  tempest,"  cried  Louder, 
as  he  and  his  companions  entered  the  old  house. 
A  burst  of  thunder  shook  the  earth;  the  wild  winds 
raged  about  the  house,  making  the  rickety  old 
structure  creak  and  groan,  while  the  air  about 
seemed  on  fire.  For  a  moment  all  were  awed  to 
silence;  then  Charles  said: 

"It  will  soon  pass.  The  rain  will  soon  drown 
it." 

"Have  you  but  just  come?"  asked  Louder. 

"Just  arrived." 

"  I  would  not,  under  other  circumstances,  put  up 
in  such  a  place  as  this;  but  it  is  better  than  the 
storm  raging  without." 

The  hunters,  thankful  for  even  such  poor  shelter, 
skinned  some  squirrels,  and  toasted  them  before 
the  glowing  fire,  which  Pete  had  built.  Supper 
over,  they  drew  the  benches  close  about  the  fire, 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  85 

and  while  they  listened  to  the  raging  storm  with 
out,  conversed  on  the  mysteries  of  that  invisible 
world,  which  has  always  formed  an  interesting 
theme  for  the  children  of  Adam. 

"Charles  Stevens,  only  a  few  years  ago,  you 
harbored  at  your  house  a  wizard,"  said  Louder. 

Charles  Stevens  was  half  amused  and  half  indig 
nant.  He  began  to  expostulate  with  Louder,  when 
the  latter  said: 

"Nay,  nay;  I  charge  you  not  with  bartering 
with  the  devil ;  but  list  to  me.  On  the  self-same 
day  you  found  the  stranger  wounded  at  the  road 
side  near  the  spring,  we  three  had  been  hunting 
among  the  hills  for  deer.  Some  one  had  bewitched 
my  gun.  I  know  it,  for  when  I  fired,  the  bullet, 
which  never  failed  on  other  occasions  to  go  straight 
to  the  mark,  went  astray.  All  day  long  that  mys 
terious  stranger  had  followed  us,  grievously  tor 
menting  us  and  leading  astray  our  shots,  until  I 
loaded  my  piece  with  a  sixpence  and  fired  at  a  large 
fat  buck  which  strutted  temptingly  before  me. 
Had  you  probed  his  wound  I  trow  you  would  have 
found  my  sixpence  buried  in  his  side." 

At  this,  the  negro,  who  was  crouched  in  a  corner, 
groaned  in  agony,  while  Charles  was  inclined  to 
treat  the  matter  lightly.  Louder  related  how,  while 
at  the  lake  in  the  wood,  he  had  been  visited  by 
this  msyterious  apparition,  who  'offered  him  a  book 


86  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

to  sign,  adding  that  he  knew  at  once  that  his  tor 
mentor  was  a  wizard  or  the  Devil,  that  his  eyes 
were  in  an  instant  changed  to  fire,  and  sulphurous 
smoke  issued  from  his  nostrils. 

"Can  you  ask  me  if  I  believe  my  own  eyes  and 
my  own  ears?"  concluded  Louder.  "Those  are 
truths,  and  had  I  signed  his  book,  I  would  have 
been  tormented  by  fiends  and  my  soul  forever  lost." 
"  Thev  do  say  the  people  are  ready  to  cry  out  on 
Goody  Nurse,"  put  in  Ely. 

"Goody  Nurse!  surely  not,"  answered  Charles. 
"  She  is  one  of  the  best  women  I  know.  She  is 
kind,  good  and  gentle  with  all." 

"  Verily,  so  is  Satan,  until  he  has  his  clutches 
upon  you.  Goody  Nurse  is  a  witch." 

"Beware,  John  Louder,  how  you  malign  such 
as  she,"  said  Charles,  growing  serious.  "  Have  the 
proof  before  you  assert." 

"I  know  whereof  I  speak,"  declared  John 
Louder.  "  About  five  or  six  months  ago,  one  morn 
ing  about  sunrise,  I  was  in  my  chamber  assaulted 
by  the  shape  of  Goody  Nurse,  which  looked  on  me, 
grinned  at  me,  and  very  much  hurt  me  with  a  blow 
on  the  side  of  my  head.  That  selfsame  day,  about 
noon,  the  same  shape  walked  in  the  room  where  I 
was,  and  an  apple  strangely  flew  out  of  my  hand, 
into  the  lap  of  my  wife,  ^six  or  eight  feet  from  me. 
Can  you  deny  such  evidences  as  this?" 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  87 

"I  have  seen  her,"  put  in  John  Bly,  "and  once 
when  her  shape  did  assail  me,  I  struck  at  her  with 
my  cane,  and  she  cried  out  that  I  had  torn  her 
coat." 

Samuel  Gray  stated  that  he  had  been  tormented 
with  spectres  and  spirits.  All  this  was  agony  to 
the  horrified  negro,  who,  crouching  in  one  corner, 
shivered  with  dread,  while  his  eyes  wildly  rolled  in 
agony. 

"  Once  a  shape  appeared  to  me  and  did  tempt  me 
to  sign  a  book  which  I  refused  to  do,  and  the  shape 
whipped  me  with  iron  rods  to  compel  me  there 
unto." 

"Did  you  know  the  witch?"  asked  Charles. 

"Verily,  I  did." 

"Who  was  it?" 

"  One  Bridget  Bishop.  I  afterward  saw  her  at 
a  general  meeting  of  witches  in  a  field,  where  they 
all  partook  of  a  diabolical  sacrament,  not  of  bread 
and  wine,  but  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  murdered 
people." 

At  this  the  negro  groaned  and  crouched  closer 
to  the  chimney  jamb.  The  storm  roared  without, 
and  the  rain  fell  with  a  steady  pouring  sound,  as 
the  superstitious  hunters  filled  their  pipes  and 
gathered  closer  about  the  fire. 

"  There  is  no  need  to  deny  longer  that  witches 
exist,"  said  John  Louder.  "I  have  seen  enough 


88  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

of  them  to  convince  me  beyond  question  that  there 
are  witches.  Ann  Durent  one  day  left  her  infant, 
William  Durent  with  Amy  Dunny,  a  woman  who 
has  since  been  known  to  be  a  witch.  Though 
Dunny  was  an  old  woman,  she  afterward  confessed 
she  had  given  suck  to  the  child,  .whereat  Durent 
was  displeased  and  Dunny  went  away  with  discon 
tent  and  menaces. 

"  The  night  after,  the  child  fell  into  strange  and 
sad  fits,  wherein  it  continued  for  divers  weeks. 
One  doctor  Jacob,  who  knew  something  of  witches, 
advised  her  to  hang  up  the  child's  blanket  in  the 
chimney  corner  all  day,  and  at  night,  when  she 
went  to  put  the  child  into  it,  if  she  found  anything 
in  it,  then  to  throw  it  without  fear  into  the  fire. 
Accordingly  at  night  when  she  took  down  the 
blanket,  there  fell  out  of  it  a  great  toad,  which 
hopped  up  and  down  the  hearth,  uttering  strange 
cries.  A  boy  caught  it,  and  held  it  in  the  fire  with 
the  tongs,  where  it  made  a  horrible  noise,  and 
flashed  like  gunpowder,  with  a  report  like  that  of 
a  pistol.  Whereupon  the  toad  was  seen  no  more. 
The  next  day  a  kinswoman  of  Dunny  said  she  was 
grievously  scorched  with  the  fire,  and  on  going  to 
the  house  it  was  found  to  be  even  so.  After  the 
burning  of  the  toad,  the  child  recovered." 

"I  did  not  believe,  in  witchcraft  at  first,"  re 
marked  Samuel  Gray,  by  way  of  preface  to  some 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  89 

weird  account  of  his  own;  "but  I  cannot  doubt 
my  senses.  I  had  been  to  Boston  on  business  for 
the  parson  and,  being  belated,  was  riding  along  the 
road  homeward.  I  had  just  reached  the  old  Plais- 
towe  field,  when  I  suddenly  discovered  a  long  black 
something,  like  a  monster  cat  or  panther,  running 
along  the  fence  at  my  side.  I  was  seized  of  some 
strange  power  and  despite  my  will  was  forced  to 
wink  my  eyes.  If  I  closed  my  eyes  but  for  a 
second,  the  black  object  was  back  at  the  point 
where  it  started  from  and  ran  along  again,  until  I 
closed  my  eyes,  when  it  appeared  where  I  had  first 
seen  it.  My  horse  became  affrighted  and  ran  away 
with  me." 

John  Ely  knocked  the  ashes  from  his  pipe  and 
began : 

"  I  have  an  uncle  in  Virginia,  who  was  sorely 
tried  by  witches.  One  witch  in  the  neighborhood, 
especially,  did  grievously  torment  him.  He  would 
go  to  his  door  and  see  his  field  full  of  cattle;  but 
on  entering  the  field  itself,  no  cattle  were  to  be 
seen.  Knowing  full  well  that  he  was  bewitched, 
he  loaded  his  gun  with  a  silver  bullet,  and  one  day 
fired  at  a  large  white  cow.  Instantly  every  beast 
disappeared,  and  he  saw  an  old  woman  over  the 
hill  limping  as  if  in  pain.  It  was  the  suspected 
witch,  whom  he  had  shot  in  the  leg.  She  did 
not  bother  him  any  more;  but  another  witch  used 


90  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

to  come  at  night  and  ride  him.  She  would  shake 
a  witch  bridle  over  his  head,  utter  some  incantation 
and  my  uncle  would  be  turned  into  a  horse,  and 
she  would  ride  him  hard  until  morning.  Then  she 
would  bring  him  home,  remove  the  spell,  and  he 
would  be  asleep  in  bed  at  dawn.  One  night  he 
was  thus  ridden  to  a  witch  ball  and  tied  to  a  tree. 
He  rubbed  his  head  against  the  tree  until  he  got  the 
bridle  off,  the  spell  was  broken  and  he  was  once 
more  a  man.  He  took  the  enchanted  bridle  and 
laid  in  wait  for  the  witch.  As  she  emerged  from 
the  door,  he  seized  her,  shook  the  bridle  over  her 
head,  repeated  the  words  she  had  used,  and  in 
stantly  she  was  changed  into  a  fine  gray  mare.  He 
mounted  her  and  rode  her  furiously,  out  of  revenge, 
for  many  miles  to  a  blacksmith,  where  he  alighted 
and,  awaking  the  smith,  had  him  shoe  the  mare  at 
once.  Then  he  rode  her  nearly  home,  when  he 
turned  her  loose. 

"Next  morning  he  went  to  the  home  of  his 
neighbor,  whose  wife  he  suspected  of  being  the 
witch,  and  inquired  after  the  health  of  the  family. 

"  'My  wife  is  ill,'  answered  the  head  of  the  house. 

"'What  ails  her?' 

"'Alas,  I  know  not.' 

"  My  uncle  went  into  the  room  where  the  woman 
lay  in  bed  suffering  greatly. 

"'Are  you  very  ill?'  my  uncle  asked. 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  91 

"  'I  am  sick  almost  unto  death,'  the  woman  an 
swered. 

"  'Let  me  hold  your  hand  and  see  if  you  have  a 
fever. ' 

"  'No,  no,  no!'  and  she  sought  to  hide  her  hands 
under  the  cover;  but  my  uncle  was  a  resolute  man, 
and  he  seized  her  hand  and  drew  it  from  beneath 
the  cover,  and  behold,  a  horseshoe  was  nailed  unto 
it.  On  each  hand  and  each  foot  there  was  nailed 
a  shoe  which  the  smith  at  the  trial  swore  he  had 
put  on  the  gray  mare  the  night  before." 

The  negro  groaned  at  the  conclusion  of  the  nar 
rative,  and  his  face  was  so  expressive  of  agony, 
that  it  formed  a  comical  picture,  exciting  the 
laughter  of  Charles  Stevens,  and  Ely  supposing 
that  he  was  skeptical  of  the  story  he  had  told 
said: 

"  Do  you  doubt  the  truth  of  my  narrative,  my 
merry  fellow?  Perchance  you  may  some  day  feel 
the  clutches  of  a  witch  upon  you,  then,  pray  God, 
beware." 

"  These  are  matters  of  too  serious  moment  to  ex 
cite  one  to  laughter,"  put  in  Mr.  Gray,  solemnly. 
"  Since  the  devil  is  come  down  in  great  wrath  upon 
us,  let  us  not  in  our  great  wrath  against  one  an 
other  provide  a  lodging  for  him." 

Charles,  the  reckless,  merry  youth,  treated  the 
matter  as  it  would  be  treated  at  the  present  day. 


92  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"You  need  not  deride  the  idea  of  witches  chang 
ing  people  to  horses,"  said  John  Louder,  who,  ac 
cording  to  accounts  given  of  him,  by  Cotton  Mather, 
was  either  an  accomplished  liar  or  a  man  possessing 
a  vivid  imagination. 

"Have  you  ever  had  any  personal  experience?" 
asked  Charles. 

"Indeed  I  have." 

"  What  was  it?" 

"Goody  Nurse  does  such  things;  but  she  has 
ever  been  too  shrewd  to  be  caught  as  was  the 
witch  in  Virginia." 

"  Goody  Nurse!  For  shame  on  you,  Mr.  Louder, 
to  accuse  that  good,  righteous  woman  with  offences 
as  heinous  as  having  familiar  spirits." 

With  a  solemnity  so  earnest  that  sincerity  could 
scarcely  be  doubted,  John  Louder  remarked: 

"  Glad  should  I  be,  if  I  had  never  known  the 
name  of  this  woman,  or  never  had  this  occasion  to 
mention  so  much  as  her  name.  Goody  Nurse  is 
the  most  base  of  all  God's  creatures,  for  she  takes 
unto  herself  a  seeming  holiness." 

"What  hath  she  done?" 

"  Listen  and  I  will  tell  you.  She  hath  grievously 
afflicted  my  children.  At  night  her  shape  appears 
to  them  accompanied  by  a  black  man.  She  hath 
power  to  change  her  own  form  into  an  animal,  a 
bird  or  insect  at  will.  Once  my  little  girl  was  at- 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  93 

tacked  by  a  large  black  cat,  which  she  recognized 
as  Goody  Nurse. 

"Not  only  does  she  afflict  my  children;  but  my 
cattle,  my  gun  and  myself  have  been  bewitched  by 
her." 

John  Louder  here  paused  and,  refilling  his  pipe, 
lighted  it,  took  a  few  whiffs  to  get  it  going  and  re 
sumed  : 

"If  you  will  listen  to  what  I  say,  I  will  tell  you 
of  a  certain  incident  which  befell  me  last  summer. 
One  night  I  had  retired  early  to  rest,  for,  having 
been  in  the  fields  all  day,  I  was  somewhat  weary. 
I  fell  asleep  and  was  dreaming  of  pleasant  forests, 
running  brooks,  green  meadows,  thrift  and  plenty, 
when  suddenly  methought  I  heard  a  voice  calling 
unto  me. 

"  'John  Louder!  John  Louder!'  it  seemed  to  say. 

"I  started  up  from  my  pillow  and  sat  on  the 
side  of  my  bed.  The  day  had  been  very  hot,  the 
night  was  still  warm,  and  the  window  had  been  left 
open,  that  the  good  south  breeze  might  refresh  my 
heated  face.  Suddenly  in  through  that  window 
came  a  great  black  object.  I  could  see  the  eyes 
like  blue  flames,  the  face  with  a  hideous  grin, 
great  sharp  ears  and  short  horns  on  top.  He  had 
bat-like  wings,  a  tail,  and  on  one  foot  was  a  cloven 
hoof. 

"I  was  too  much  affrighted  to  speak;  but  the 


94  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

shape  motioned  me  to  rise.  I  did  so.  An  instant 
later,  lo,  a  second  shape  appeared,  and  this  was 
Rebecca  Nurse.  They  did  not  ask  me  to  sign  the 
book,  this  time,  for  I  had  declined  so  often  to  do 
so,  that  they  thought  it  little  need. 

"'Come!'  said  Goody  Nurse.  I  rose  and  fol 
lowed,  I  own,  for  I  was  under  some  strange  spell. 

"  We  got  out  of  the  house,  I  know  not  how,  and 
I  saw  a  great  many  people  waiting.  Some  were 
on  the  ground,  and  some  were  in  the  air.  All 
were  on  broomsticks. 

"'Come,  John  Louder,  mount  behind  me,'  said 
Rebecca  Nurse,  and  I  was  compelled  to  get  behind 
her." 

"What  was  she  riding?"  Charles  asked. 

"A  broomstick." 

Charles,  by  an  effort,  restrained  the  laughter, 
which  the  answer  had  so  nearly  created,  and  John 
Louder  resumed: 

"  She  uttered  a  strange,  terrible  cry,  and  we  all 
rose  in  the  air  on  the  broomsticks  and  away  we 
sped  like  birds.  I  was  in  constant  fear  lest  I 
should  fall  and  be  dashed  to  death  on  the  ground. 
I  clung  to  her,  and  she,  uttering  strange  screeches 
and  cries,  sped  on  like  a  bird  through  the  air.  Her 
broomstick  rose  and  fell  at  her  command. 

"  At  last  we  descerided  to  a  valley,  and  all  the 
witches  save  Goody  Nurse  disappeared.  Here  I 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES. 


95 


soon  learned  that,  intsead  of  riding,  I  was  to  be 
ridden.  By  a  few  magic  words,  my  face  became 
elongated,  my  body  grew,  my  hands  and  feet  be 
came  hoofs,  my  ,  ,  _  body  was  covered 
with  hair,  I  had  *!<^fe^^"<  a  mane  and  tail, 


and  I  was 
saddle  on 
my  mouth, 
old  witch 


a    horse,    with    a 
my  back,  and  a  bit  in 
Mounting  me,  the 

cried: 

~         '"Be  go 
ing,  Johnnie,  I   will 


WE   ALL  ROSE   IN   THE  AIR 
ON  BROOMSTICKS." 


give  you.  sore 

bones  ere  the  cock  crows.' 

"  I  was  goaded  to  despera 
tion.  I  ran,  I  leaped,  I 
sprang  from  precipices  so 

high,  that,  had  I  not  been  held  up  by  the  spirits  of 
the  air,  I  must  have  been  dashed  to  death  on  the 
rocks  below.  I  was  agonized,  and  I  wanted  to 
die. 

"  At  last  we  came  to  a  valley  and  a  house,  which 


96  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

I  recognized  as  the  old  Ames  Meeting  House.  Here 
a  number  of  poor  wretches  like  myself  who  had 
been  changed  to  beasts  and  ridden  almost  to  death, 
were  tied  up.  Some  of  them  were  horses,  some 
were  bulls,  and  one  had  been  changed  to  a  ram, 
another  to  an  ostrich.  I  was  tied  to  a  tree  so  near 
^to  the  door  of  the  house,  that  I  could  see  within. 

"  Verily,  it  was  such  a  sight  as  I  pray  God  I  may 
never  witness  again.  There  were  the  witches  at 
their  infernal  feast.  The  liver  and  lungs,  torn  warm 
and  bleeding  from  some  helpless  wretch,  lay  on  the 
table.  They  partook  of  the  food,  also  the  diaboli 
cal  sacrament,  and  then  commenced  their  dance.  I 
saw  them  dancing  with  their  feet  up  to  the  ceiling 
and  their  heads  hanging  down. 

"In  my  agony  of  spirit,  I  seized  the  tree  nearest 
me  in  my  mouth,  and  bit  it  so  hard  that  I  broke 
out  the  tooth,"  and  here  the  narrator  exhibited  his 
teeth,  one  of  the  front  ones  being  gone.  "You 
see  the  tooth  is  missing.  A  week  later  I  went  to 
the  Ames  Meeting  House  and  found  the  tooth  stick 
ing  in  the  tree. 

"After  they  had  kept  up  their  infernal  dance 
for  an  hour,  Goody  Nurse  again  appeared  and, 
mounting  on  my  back,  did  ride  me  most  grievously 
hard  over  the  hills  and  plains,  until  we  came  to  my 
home.  Then  she  suddenly  slipped  from  my  back 
and  hurled  me  head  first  through  the  window, 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  97 

where  I  fell  in  my  own  shape  by  the  side  of  the 
bed." 

Charles  Stevens,  feeling  assured  that  he  had  a 
solution  to  the  marvellous  story,  said: 

"  It  was  no  doubt  a  frightful  dream,  which  to 
you  seemed  real." 

"Dream,  was  it?"  cried  Louder.  "I  sprang  to 
my  feet,  ran  to  the  window,  and,  sure  as  I  am  a 
white  man,  there  was  Goody  Nurse  soaring  away 
through  the  air  on  a  broomstick." 

When  he  had  finished  his  story,  the  horrified 
group  shuddered  and  gathered  closer  about  the  fire 
which  had  burned  low  on  the  hearth.  Pete  tried 
to  lay  on  a  stick  with  his  trembling  hand,  but  was 
not  equal  to  the  task.  The  lamp-wick  burned  low  in 
its  socket,  flickered  and  threatened  to  go  out,  while 
the  storm  without  howled  with  increasing  fury,  the 
rain  beat  against  the  side  of  the  house,  and  the 
thunder  crashed  overhead. 

A  shuddering  silence  seemed  to  have  seized  upon 
the  group,  and  they  sat  watching  the  flickering 
lamp  and  smouldering  fire,  when  suddenly  all  were 
roused  by  a  loud  rapping  at  the  door.  The  entire 
group  started  up  in  alarm,  the  negro  howled,  and 
Ely  gasped: 

"God  save  us!" 

"The  whole  armor  of  God  shield  us  against  the 
witches,"  groaned  John  Louder. 
7* 


98  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Heaven  help  us  now!"  whispered  Gray. 

Charles  Stevens,  though  scarcely  more  than  a 
youth,  was  the  most  self-possessed  of  all.  He  rose 
and  opened  the  door.  A  blinding  flash  revealed  a 
pair  of  horses  with  drooping  heads  in  the  rain  and 
storm,  while  a  man  and  young  girl,  the  late  riders 
of  the  horses,  stood  at  the  door  holding  the  reins. 

As  soon  as  the  door  was  opened,  the  man,  hold 
ing  the  little  maiden's  hand  in  his  own,  stepped 
into  the  house  to  be  out  of  the  gust  of  wind  and 
rain. 

"We  are  belated  travellers,  kind  sir,  and  seek 
shelter  from  the  storm,"  the  stranger  began. 

At  sound  of  his  voice,  John  Louder  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and,  seizing  the  lamp,  held  it  close  to 
the  man's  face.  Starting  back  with  a  yell,  he 
cried: 

"Away!  wizard,  devil,  away!  You  are  he  who 
offered  the  book  to  me.  Away!  away!  or  I  will 
slay  you!" 

The  startled  stranger  answered: 

"I  never  saw  you  before." 

John  Louder  insisted  that  he  was  the  evil  one 
who  had  met  him  at  the  lake  while  he  was  stalking 
the  deer,  and  had  offered  him  the  book  to  sign. 

"I  never  saw  you  before  in  rny  life,"  the 
stranger  answered,  his  theatrical  tones  making  a 
strange  impression  on  the  superstitious  Louder. 


A  NIGHT  WITH  WITCHES.  99 

He  read  in  his  face  the  look  of  a  demon,  and  con- 
tinned  to  cry: 

"  You  must,  you  shall  go  away !  Prince  of  dark 
ness,  back  into  the  storm  which  your  powers 
created!" 

Charles  Stevens  was  too  much  amazed  to  speak 
for  some  moments,  for,  by  the  combined  aid  of  the 
lamp  and  firelight,  he  saw  before  him  the  very 
features  of  the  man  whom  he  had  found  wounded 
and  almost  dying  at  the  spring.  The  wanderer 
turned  his  sad  and  handsome  face  to  the  youth  and 
asked : 

"Can  you  take  us  to  shelter?" 

"I  did  once,  and  will  again." 

"  You  did  once?  Truly  you  mistake,  for  I  never 
saw  you  before.  My  child  will  perish  in  this 
storm." 

"It  is  five  miles  to  my  house;  but  if  you  will 
come  with  me  I  will  show  you  the  way." 

They  tried  to  dissuade  Charles  from  going  out 
into  the  driving  storm ;  but  he  was  not  moved  by 
their  entreaties.  He  only  saw  the  young  maiden's 
pale,  sweet  face  and  appealing  blue  eyes,  and  he 
set  off  with  the  two  through  the  storm,  which  beat 
about  them  so  that  they  were  quite  wet  to  the  skin 
when  the  house  of  widow  Stevens  was  reached. 
The  man  and  the  maid  were  given  beds  and  dry 
clothing. 


100  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Next  morning,  Charles  asked  the  stranger: 

"  Are  you  not  the  man  who  came  here  in  1684, 
wounded?" 

"  I  am  not.  I  was  never  here  before.  What  is 
your  name?" 

"Charles  Stevens." 

"Have  you  relatives  in  Boston?" 

"Yes,  my  grandfather,  Mathew  Stevens,  who 
was  a  Spaniard  by  birth  and  called  Mattheo  Estevan, 
died  in  Boston  twenty  years  ago,  and  I  have 
uncles,  aunts  and  cousins  living  there." 

"Have  you  relatives  in  Virginia?" 

"I  have  cousins." 

"Is  one  Robert  Stevens?" 

"He  is." 

"I  know  him,  he  befriended  me  and  sent  me 
here." 

Then  the  stranger  told  how  he  had  been  an  in 
dented  slave  in  Virginia,  and  escaped  from  a  cruel 
master  through  the  aid  of  Robert  Stevens. 

The  strangers  were  George  Waters  and  his 
daughter  Cora. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE     CHARTER     OAK. 

When  time,  who  steals  our  years  away 

Shall  steal  our  pleasures  too, 
The  memory  of  the  past  will  stay, 

And  half  our  joys  renew. 

— MOORE. 

THE  Stevens  family  was  growing  with  the  colo 
nies.  Of  the  descendants  of  Mathew  Stevens  who 
came  to  New  Plymouth  in  the  Mayflower,  there 
were  many  living  in  Boston,  New  York,  Salern, 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  The  family, 
widely  scattered  as  its  members  were,  never  lost 
track  of  each  other.  They  knew  all  their  relatives 
in  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Carolinia. 

Charles  Stevens,  but  a  youth,  was  on  a  visit  to 
Connecticut,  when  an  event  transpired,  which  has 
since  become  historical.  An  aunt  of  Charles 
Stevens  was  the  wife  of  a  certain  Captain  Wads- 
worth,  and  Charles  was  visiting  at  this  aunt's  house 
when  the  incident  happened. 

As  the  student  of  American  history  doubtless 
knows,  the  tyrannical  Governor  Andros  of  New 

101 


103  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

York,  claimed  dominion  over  all  that  scope  of 
country  denominated  as  the  New  Netherland,  a 
very  indefinite  term  applied  to  a  great  scope  of 
country  extending  from  Maryland  to  the  Connecti 
cut  River,  to  which  point  Andros  claimed  juris 
diction. 

As  early  as  1675,  he  went  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Connecticut  River  with  a  small  naval  force,  to  as 
sert  his  authority.  Captain  Bull,  the  commander 
of  a  small  garrison  at  Saybrook,  permitted  him  to 
land ;  but  when  the  governor  began  to  read  his  com 
mission,  Bull  ordered  him  to  be  silent.  Andros 
was  compelled  to  yield  to  the  bold  spirit  and  su 
perior  military  power  of  Captain  Bull,  and  in  a 
towering  passion  he  returned  to  New  York,  fling 
ing  curses  and  threats  behind  him  at  the  people  of 
Connecticut  in  general  and  Captain  Bull  in  par 
ticular. 

More  than  a  dozen  years  had  passed  since  An 
dros  had  been  humiliated  by  Connecticut,  and, 
despite  his  anathemas,  the  colony  quietly  pursued 
the  even  tenor  of  its  way.  At  the  end  of  that 
period,  a  most  exciting  incident  occurred  at  Hart 
ford,  during  the  visit  of  Charles  Stevens  to  that  city. 
This  historical  incident  has  about  it  all  the  rosy 
hues  of  romance.  On  the  very  day  of  the  arrival 
of  Charles  Stevens  at  Hartford,  while  he  was  talk 
ing  with  Captain  Wadsworth,  his  aunt's  husband, 


THE  CHARTER  OAK.  103 

a  member  of  the  colonial  assembly  suddenly  entered 
the  house,  his  face  flushed  with  excitement. 

"  What  has  happened,  Mr.  Prince?"  Wadsworth 
asked,  for  he  could  see  that  the  man  was  greatly 
excited. 

"Governor  Andros  has  come  again, "gasped  Mr. 
Prince. 

"Why  should  that  alarm  us?  The  fellow, 
though  given  to  boasting,  is  not  dangerous,  or  liable 
to  put  his  threats  into  execution." 

"But  he  has  grown  dangerous!"  declared  Mr. 
Prince.  "  The  liberties  of  the  colony  are  involved. 
Andros  appears  as  a  usurper  of  authority — the 
willing  instrument  of  King  James  the  second,  who, 
it  seems,  has  determined  to  hold  absolute  rule  over 
all  New  England." 

Captain  Wadsworth  became  a  little  uneasy, 
though  he  was  still  inclined  to  treat  the  matter 
lightly.  Mr.  Prince,  to  convince  him  of  the  danger 
they  were  in,  continued:, 

"  You  remember  that  on  his  arrival  in  New  York 
as  governor  of  New  Netherland,  he  demanded  the 
surrender  of  all  the  colonial  charters  into  his  hands. " 

"I  remember  such  an  order,  and  furthermore 
that  all  the  colonies  complied  with  his  infamous 
demand  save  Connecticut.  We  have  stubbornly 
refused  to  yield  our  charter  voluntarily,  for  it  is 
the  guardian  of  our  political  rights." 


104  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"That  is  true,  Captain  Wadsworth,"  continued 
Mr.  Prince,  "and,  to  subdue  our  stubbornness, 
this  viceroy  has  come  to  Hartford  with  sixty  armed 
men,  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  charter  in 
person." 

Captain  Wadsworth  bounded  to  his  feet  in  a  rage 
and,  placing  his  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his  sword,  de 
clared: 

"He  shall  not  have  it!" 

Arriving  at  Hartford  on  the  31st  of  October, 
1687,  Andros  found  the  general  assembly  in  ses 
sion  in  the  meeting-house.  The  members  received 
him  with  the  courtesy  due  to  his  rank.  Before 
that  body,  with  armed  men  at  his  back,  he  de 
manded  a  formal  surrender  of  the  precious  charter 
into  his  hands. 

The  members  of  the  assembly  were  alarmed  and 
amazed  at  his  request. 

The  day  was  well  nigh  spent,  when  he  arrived, 
and  the  members  were  engaged  in  a  heated  debate 
on  a  subject  of  the  utmost  importance. 

"Wait  until  the  discussion  is  ended,  and  then 
we  will  listen  to  you,  governor,"  the  president  of 
the  assembly  answered  to  the  demand  of  Andros. 

"I  have  come  for  the  charter,  and  I  will 
have  it!"  said  Andros,  in  his  haughty,  imperious 
manner. 

He  consented,  however,  to  await  the  discussion; 


THE  CHARTER   OAK.  105 

but  as  soon  as  it  was  ended,  he  declared  that  he 
would  have  the  charter. 

Captain  Wadsworth  chanced  to  be  at  his  house 
on  the  arrival  of  Andros,  and,  as  everybody  had 
the  most  implicit  confidence  in  the  captain's  good 
sense,  a  member  was  despatched  for  him,  as  has 
been  stated. 

After  the  captain  had  taken  two  or  three  turns 
across  the  room,  he  paused  and  asked: 

"What  is  the  assembly  doing?" 

"Engaged  in  a  debate." 

"And  will  he  wait  until  it  has  ended?" 

"He  has  promised  to  do  so." 

"  Hasten  back,  Mr.  Prince,  and  whisper  in  the 
ears  of  every  member  to  prolong  the  debate.  It 
will  give  us  time.  I  am  going  to  do  something 
desperate.  Tell  them  to  discuss  any  side  and  every 
side  of  the  question  at  issue,  and  have  your  longest 
speech-makers  do  their  best — talk  on  anything  and 
everything  whether  to  the  point  or  against  it,  so 
that  they  kill  time  until  night." 

Mr.  Prince  fixed  his  amazed  eyes  on  the  captain's 
face  and  read  there  a  desperate  determination. 

"Captain,"  he  began. 

"I  know  what  you  would  say,  Mr.  Prince;  but 
it  is  needless  to  waste  words;  my  resolution  is 
formed,  and  I  am  going  to  save  our  charter  or  per 
ish  in  the  attempt." 


106  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  endanger  your  own  life 

"Mr.  Prince,  our  liberties  are  in  danger,  and 
there  is  no  time  to  think  of  life.  Hasten  back  to 
the  assembly  and  I  will  follow  in  a  few  mo 
ments." 

Mr.  Prince  bowed  and  hastily  returned  to  the 
house  where  the  assembly  was  in  session.  As  soon 
as  he  was  gone,  Charles  Stevens  said: 

"Uncle,  something  terrible  is  going  to  happen, 
I  know  from  your  look  and  words.  Won't  you 
let  me  go  with  you?" 

Captain  Wadsworth  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  youth 
and  answered: 

"Yes,  Charles,  you  will  answer." 

"What  do  you  mean,  uncle?" 

"Are  you  willing  to  help  us?" 

"lam." 

"Then  you  can  put  out  the  lights." 

"What  lights?" 

"  At  the  proper  time,  put  out  the  lights  in  the  as 
sembly;  but  wait;  I  will  go  and  muster  the  train 
bands,  and  have  them  at  hand  to  prevent  the  gov 
ernor's  soldiers  from  injuring  the  members  of  the 
general  assembly." 

Captain  Wadsworth  went  out,  and  on  his  way 
looked  into  the  State-house  where  everything  was 
going  as  well  as  he  could  have  wished.  He  found 
the  debaters  cudgelling  their  brains  for  some- 


THE  CHARTER   OAK.  107 

thing  to  say  to  the  point  or  against  it.  Never 
did  debaters  take  greater  interest  in  a  minor  sub 
ject. 

He  summoned  his  train-bands  to  assemble  at  sun 
set.  This  done,  he  went  home  and  found  Charles 
eagerly  waiting. 

"  Charles,  you  see  the  soldiers  of  Governor  An- 
dros  at  the  State-house?" 

"Yes." 

"  They  are  sent  to  take  our  liberties.  My  train 
bands  have  their  eyes  on  them." 

"What  do  you  intend  doing,  uncle?  Will  you 
fight  them?" 

"  Not  unless  they  force  it.  We  have  no  wish  to 
shed  their  blood.  Listen;  the  charter  is  to  be 
brought  to  the  assembly  in  the  same  mahogany  box 
in  which  Charles  II.  sent  it  to  Governor  Winthrop. 
When  it  is  laid  on  the  table,  the  lights  are  to  be 
snuffed  out.  Do  you  understand?" 

"Yes." 

"Can  you  doit?" 

"Nothing  is  easier." 

"  Remember,  the  work  must  be  done  right  at  the 
time,  not  too  soon,  nor  too  late." 

"  I  will  do  it  at  the  exact  moment,  uncle.  Have 
no  fear  on  that  score." 

The  sun  was  setting,  and  the  captain  said: 

"  Come,  Charles,  let  us  hasten  to  the  assembly. 


108  THE  WITCH  OP  SALEM. 

Look  well  at  the  setting  sun,  you  may  not  live  to 
see  it  rise." 

Charles  Stevens  smiled  and  answered: 

"  You  do  not  expect  me  to  be  a  coward?" 

"By  no  means;  but  I  want  you  to  be  fully  im 
pressed  with  the  seriousness  of  your  mission." 

They  went  to  the  general  assembly  at  the  meeting 
house,  where  the.y  found  everything  in  the  utmost 
confusion.  The  debate  was  at  a  white  heat. 

"  Take  your  place,  Charles,  and  be  prepared  to 
do  your  part,"  whispered  Captain  Wadsworth. 

Charles  got  as  close  to  the  long  table  used  by  the 
secretaries  as  possible,  without  attracting  special 
attention. 

The  discussion  went  on,  darkness  came  and  four 
lighted  candles  were  placed  on  the  table,  and  two 
set  on  a  shelf  on  the  wall.  Those  two  candles  on 
the  wall  were  a  great  annoyance  to  Charles  until  he 
saw  a  man  stationed  near  them. 

Time  passed  on,  and  darkness  had  enveloped  the 
earth.  The  debate  was  drawing  to  a  close,  or,  in 
fact,  had  gone  as  far  as  it  could,  without  arousing 
the  suspicion  of  Governor  Andros.  When  it  ended, 
the  governor  of  New  York  declared: 

"  I  have  waited  as  long  as  I  will.  I  demand  the 
charter  at  once.  As  governor  of  New  York,  this 
being  a  part  of  my  dominion,  I  will  have  it." 

"  Wait "  began  the  president. 


CHARLES   STEVENS,  AT   ONE   SWEEP,  SNUFFED   OUT   EVERT   CANDLE   ON   THE   TABLE. 


THE  CHARTER   OAK  109 

"No;  already  I  have  waited  too  long.  Bring  it 
at  once." 

There  have  been  so  many  stories  told  of  the 
Charter  Oak  that  the  author  here  feels  justified  in 
stepping  aside  from  the  narrative  to  quote  from  the 
journal  for  June  15,  1687,  the  following  entry : 

"  Sundry  of  the  court,  desiring  that  the  patent 
or  charter  might  be  brought  into  the  court,  the  sec 
retary  sent  for  it,  and  informed  the  governor  and 
court  that  he  had  the  charter,  and  showed  it  to  the 
court,  and  the  governor  bid  him  put  it  into  the  box 
again,  and  lay  it  on  the  table,  and  leave  the  key  in 
the  box,  which  he  did,  forthwith." 

Affairs  had  proceeded  to  this  point,  when  Charles 
Stevens,  who  had  crept  quite  close  to  the  table, 
with  a  long  stick,  at  one  sweep,  snuffed  out  every 
candle  on  the  table. 

"Treason!  treason!"  cried  Andros,  and  at  this 
moment  the  two  remaining  candles  on  the  wall 
were  extinguished. 

"Lights!  lights!"  cried  a  voice,  and  at  the  same 
moment,  Andros  shouted: 

"The  boy  did  it!  kill  the  boy  and  seize  the  box!" 
His  hand  was  outstretched  to  take  the  box  from  the 
table,  when  the  same  stick  which  had  extinguished 
the  lights  gave  his  knuckles  such  a  rap  that  he  ut 
tered  a  yell  of  pain.  Though  the  lights  were  extin 
guished,  through  the  windows  the  faint  starlight 


110  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

dimly  illuminated  the  scene.  Charles  Stevens  saw 
the  outline  of  his  uncle,  who  seized  the  box  and 
hurried  with  it  from  the  meeting-house. 

He  followed  him  as  rapidly  as  he  could.  A 
terrible  uproar  and  confusion  inside  attracted  the 
attention  of  everybody,  so  Captain  Wads  worth  es 
caped  without  being  noticed,  with  the  precious  doc 
ument  under  his  arm.  The  youth  was  close  behind 
him  and,  when  they  were  outside,  seized  his  arm. 

"Unhand  me!"  cried  Captain  Wadsworth, 
snatching  his  sword  from  its  sheath. 

"Uncle!" 

"Charles,  it  is  you?  Marry!  boy,  have  a  care 
how  you  approach  me.  Why !  I  was  about  to  run 
you  through." 

"  Have  you  got  it?" 

"Whist!  Charles,  the  governor's  soldiers  are 
near.  They  may  hear  you." 

" They  have  enough  to  do  in  there,"  answered 
the  boy,  pointing  toward  the  meeting  house,  in 
which  pandemonium  seemed  to  reign. 

The  voice  of  Governor  Andros  could  be  heard 
loud  above  the  others  calling  to  the  troops  to  come 
to  his  aid.  The  soldiers  began  to  crowd  about  the 
house,  when,  at  a  signal  from  Captain  Wadsworth, 
the  train-bands  came  on  the  scene  and  prepared  to 
grapple  with  the  soldiers.,  A  bloody  fight  seemed 
inevitable;  but  Governor  Andros,  who  was  a  cow- 


THE  CHARTER  OAK.  Ill 

ard  as  well  as  tyrant,  at  sign  of  danger,  begged 
peace. 

"Lights!  Light  the  candles!"  he  cried,  "and 
we  will  have  peace."  When  the  candles  were  re 
lighted,  the  members  were  seen  seated  about  the 
table  in  perfect  order;  but  the  charter  could  no 
where  be  seen.  For  a  few  moments,  the  outwitted 
governor  stood  glaring  at  first  one  and  then  the 
other  of  the  assembly.  His  passion  choked  him 
to  silence  at  first;  but  as  soon  as  he  partially  re 
covered  his  self-possession,  he  demanded: 

"Where  is  the  charter?"  No  one  answered, 
and,  with  bosom  swelling  with  indignation  at  be 
ing  cheated  by  a  device  of  the  shrewd  members  of 
the  assembly,  he  threatened  to  have  them  arrested. 

"Governor  Andros,  we  dispute  your  authority 
here,  and  have  disputed  it  before,"  said  a  member 
of  the  assembly.  "  You  have  your  soldiers  at  the 
door  and  we  have  the  train-bands  of  Connecticut 
ready  to  defend  us  against  violence." 

"Who  of  you  has  the  charter?" 

"I  have  not,"  answered  one. 

"Nor  I." 

"Nor  I,"  answered  each  and  every  one. 

"It  was  the  boy,"  cried  the  enraged  governor. 
"I  saw  him;  he  struck  my  hand  in  the  dark;  yet 
I  knew  it  was  he.  Where  is  he?  Whose  son  is 
he?" 


112  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Every  member  of  the  assembly  shook  their  heads. 

"  We  do  not  know  him.  He  does  not  live  in 
Connecticut." 

"Where  does  he  live?" 

"  He  is  from  Massachusetts  and  beyond  even  the 
claimed  bounds  of  your  jurisdiction." 

"  So  this  is  another  trick.  You  have  imported 
one  from  a  distant  colony  to  steal  the  charter,"  the 
indignant  governor  cried. 

"We  resent  your  insult!"  cried  an  officer  of  the 
assembly.  "The  imputation  is  false!" 

A  scene  far  more  stormy  than  any  which  had 
preceded  it  followed.  The  governor  threatened  the 
colony  with  the  fury  of  his  vengeance,  and  vowed 
he  would  report  them  to  the  king  as  in  open  re 
bellion  against  his  authority.  The  colonists  were 
shrewd  and  firm,  and  though  some  made  very  sar 
castic  answers  to  the  governor's  charges,  they  were, 
in  the  main,  quite  respectful. 

Meanwhile,  Captain  Wadsworth  and  his  wife's 
nephew,  having  the  charter,  hurried  through  the 
crowd,  which  opened  for  them  to  pass  and  closed 
behind  them.  Once  in  the  street  they  hastened 
away  at  a  rapid  pace. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it?"  Charles 
asked. 

"  Place  it  where  it  -cannot  be  found  by  the 
tyrants,"  said  the  gallant  captain.  "There- is  a 


THE  CHARTER  OAK, 


113 


venerable  oak  with  a  hollow  in  it.  In  this  cavity 
we  will  hide  the  charter,  and  none  but  you  and 
I  will  know  where  it  is.  You  can  return  to  Salem, 
beyond  reach  of  Governor  Andros,  and,  as  for  me, 
he  can  flay  me  alive  before  I  will  reveal  the  hiding- 
place." 

They  had  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
and  paused  beneath  the  wide-spreading  branches  of 
a  great  oak  tree.  The  wind,  sighing  through  the 
branches,  seemed  to 
the  liberty  -  adoring 
Wadsworth  to  be 
whispering  of  free 
dom. 

"  Stand  a  little  way 
off,  Charles,"  com 
manded  the  captain. 
"And  watch  to  see 
that  no  one  is  observ 
ing  me." 

Then,  while  Charles 
stood  as  sentry,  he  went  to  the  tree  and  put  the 
charter  in  the  hollow.  Little  did  the  captain  or 
his  youthful  assistant  dream  that  their  simple  act 
would  make  the  old  tree  historic. 

As  long  as  American  students  shall  study  the 
history  of  their  country,  will  "  The  Charter  Oak" 
be  famous. 
8 


THE  CHARTER  OAK. 


114  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

That  same  night  Charles  Stevens,  fearing  the 
wrath  of  Governor  Andros,  set  out  for  his  home  at 
Salem.  The  tree  in  which  the  document  was  hid 
den  was  ever  afterward  known  as  the  "  Charter  Oak. " 
It  remained  vigorous,  bearing  fruit  every  year  until 
a  little  after  midnight,  August,  1856,  when  it  was 
prostrated  by  a  heavy  storm  of  wind.  It  stood  in 
a  vacant  lot  on  the  south  side  of  Charter  Street,  a 
few  rods  from  Main  Street,  in  the  city  of  Hartford. 

When,  in  1687,  Andros  demanded  the  surrender 
of  the  colonial  charters,  the  inhabitants  of  Rhode 
Island  instantly  yielded.  When  the  order  for  the 
seizure  of  the  charters  was  first  made  known,  the 
assembly  of  Rhode  Island  sent  a  most  loyal  ad 
dress  to  the  king  saying: 

"  We  humbly  prostrate  ourselves,  our  privileges, 
our  all,  at  the  gracious  feet  of  your  majesty,  with  an 
entire  resolution  to  serve  you  with  faithful  hearts." 

Andros  therefore  found  no  opposition  in  the  little 
colony.  Within  a  month  after  his  arrival  at  Bos 
ton,  he  proceeded  to  Rhode  Island,  where  he  was 
graciously  received.  He  formally  dissolved  the 
assembly,  broke  the  seal  of  the  colony,  which  bore 
the  figure  of  an  anchor,  and  the  word  Hope,  ad 
mitted  five  of  the  inhabitants  into  his  legislative 
council,  and  assumed  the  functions  of  governor; 
but  he  did  not  take  away  the  parchment  on  which 
the  charter  was  written.  The  people  of  Rhode 


THE  CHARTER  OAK.  115 

Island  were  restive  under  the  petty  tyranny  of  An- 
dros,  and  when  they  heard  of  the  imprisonment  of 
the  despot  at  Boston,  in  1689,  they  assembled  at 
Newport,  resumed  popular  government  under  the 
old  charter,  and  began  a  new  independent  political 
career.  From  that  time,  until  the  enforced  union 
of  the  colonies  for  mutual  defence,  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  the  inhabitants 
of  Rhode  Island  bore  their  share  in  the  defensive 
efforts,  especially  when  the  hostile  savages  hung 
along  the  frontiers  of  New  York  like  an  ill-omened 
cloud.  The  history  of  that  commonwealth  is  iden 
tified  with  that  of  all  New  England,  from  the  begin 
ning  of  King  William's  war,  soon  after,  to  the  ex 
pulsion  of  Andros. 

Six  years  after  the  charter  was  hidden  in  the  oak, 
Andros  was  succeeded  by  Governor  Fletcher  who 
made  an  attempt  to  control  Connecticut,  but  was 
humbled  and  prevented  and,  in  fact,  driven  away 
by  Captain  Wadsworth. 

In  1689,  the  charter  was  brought  out  from  the 
long  place  of  concealment,  a  popular  assembly  was 
convened,  Robert  Treat  was  chosen  governor,  and 
Connecticut  again  assumed  the  position  of  an  in 
dependent  colony. 

The  name  of  Captain  Wadsworth  will  ever  be, 
dear  to  the  people  of  Connecticut,  and  so  will  the 
venerable  oak  which  concealed  their  charter. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

TWO   MEN   WHO    LOOK    ALIKE. 

I,  to  the  world,  am  like  a  drop  of  water, 
That  in  the  ocean  seeks  another  drop, 
Who,  falling  there  to  find  his  fellow  forth, 
Unseen,  inquisitive,  confounds  himself. 
So  I,  to  find  a  mother,  and  a  brother, 
In  quest  of  them,  unhappy,  lose  myself. 

—SHAKESPEARE. 

MR.  GEORGE  WATERS,  the  escaped  slave  from 
Virginia,  lived  very  quietly  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Stevens.  His  daughter  was  constantly  with  him, 
save  when  he  made  strange  and  unknown  pilgrim 
ages.  During  these  mysterious  visits,  she  stayed 
at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Stevens. 

Cora  was  a  quiet  little  maid,  whose  hopes  seemed 
crushed  by  some  calamity.  She  never  forgot  that 
her  father,  the  once  proud  man,  had  been  arrested 
and  sold  as  a  slave.  That  long  period  of  servitude, 
the  flight  and  the  fight  were  things  which  never 
faded  from  her  mind.  In  the  eyes  of  Charles 
Stevens,  there  was  something  singularly  attractive 
about  this  child.  She  was  so  strange,  so  silent  and 
116 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  117 

melancholy,  that  he  felt  for  her  the  keenest  sympa 
thy.  She  lived  in  the  shadow  of  some  dark  mys 
tery,  which  he  could  not  fathom.  Her  strange 
father  was  non-communicative  and  silent  as  the 
grave. 

Charles  felt  an  interest  in  these  people.  It  was 
a  strange  interest,  one  he  could  not  understand 
himself,  and  like  all  good  boys,  when  he  wanted 
wisdom  and  information,  he  went  to  his  mother. 

"  Mother,  do  you  ever  talk  with  Cora?"  he  asked 
one  day. 

"Yes." 

"Do  you  ever  talk  with  her  about  England?" 

"I  have;  but  it  seems  her  father  was  a  roving 
player,  without  any  fixed  abode." 

"And  her  mother?" 

Mrs.  Stevens,  who  was  busy  sewing,  answered: 

"I  know  nothing  of  her  mother." 

"Have  you  never  asked  about  her?" 

"No." 

"Has  she  never  mentioned  her  mother's  name?" 

"She  has  not." 

The  girl  was  nearly  always  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Stevens,  though  she  sometimes  took  strolls  alone 
through  the  town. 

The  melancholy  child  attracted  the  attention  of 
Good-wife  Nurse,  who  asked  her  to  her  house  and 
brought  her  a  mug  of  fresh  milk. 


118  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Do  you  belong  here?"  asked  Goody  Nurse. 

"I  suppose  we  do,"  was  the  answer.  "Father 
is  here  part  of  the  time." 

"And  your  mother?" 

"I  have  noue." 

"Did  she  die  in  England?" 

"Alas,  I  know  not." 

"Do  you  remember  seeing  her?" 

Cora  shook  her  head,  and  a  shadow  passed  over 
her  face. 

"Has  your  father  ever  told  you  about  her?" 
asked  Goody  Nurse. 

"No,  madame;  I  have  not  heard  him  speak  her 
name." 

Then  Goody  Nurse,  with  a  curiosity  that  was 
natural,  sought  to  question  the  child  about  her 
former  life;  but  all  she  could  gain  was  that  her 
father  had  been  a  strolling  player. 

Players  were  not  in  good  repute  in  New  Eng 
land  at  this  time.  The  prejudice  against  the  thea 
tre,  growing  out  of  the  rupture  between  the  actors 
and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  was  inherited  by 
the  Protestants,  who,  to  some  extent,  still  continue 
their  war  against  the  stage.  The  fact  that  George 
Waters  had  been  an  actor  was  sufficient  to  condemn 
him  in  the  eyes  of  the  Puritans. 

When  Mr.  Parris  learned  that  a  player  was  in 
their  midst,  he  elevated  his  ecclesiastical  nose,  and 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  119 

seemed  to  sniff  the  brimstone  of  Satan.  When  he 
learned  that  some  of  the  dissenting  members  of  his 
congregation  had  been  guilty  of  the  heinous  sin  of 
speaking  kind  words  to  the  motherless  child  of  a 
player,  he  shook  his  wise  head  knowingly  and  de 
clared,  "Truly  Satan  is  kind  to  his  own."  He 
made  the  player  a  subject  for  his  next  Lord's  day 
sermon,  in  which  he  sought  to  pervert  the  scriptures 
to  suit  his  prejudices.  The  subject  of  witchcraft 
was  beginning  to  excite  some  attention,  and  he 
managed  in  almost  every  sermon  to  ring  in  enough 
of  it  to  keep  up  the  agitation.  In  the  course  of 
his  discourse,  he  declared: 

"  The  New  Englanders  are  a  people  of  God  set 
tled  in  those,  which  were  the  devil's  territories,  and 
it  may  easily  be  supposed  that  the  devil  is  exceed 
ingly  disturbed,  when  he  perceives  such  people 
here,  accomplishing  the  promises  of  old,  made  unto 
our  blessed  Jesus,  that  he  should  have  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possessions.  There  was 
not  a  greater  uproar  among  the  Ephesians,  when 
the  gospel  was  first  brought  among  them,  than  there 
is  now  among  the  powers  of  the  air  after  whom 
those  Ephesians  walked,  when  first  the  silver  trum 
pets  of  the  gospel  made  the  joyful  sound  in  their 
dark  domain.  The  devil,  thus  irritated,  hath  tried 
all  sorts  of  methods  to  overturn  this  poor  plan 
tation." 


120  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

With  this  preface  he  assailed  the  unfortunate 
actor  and  his  innocent  child  as  being  tools  of  his 
Satanic  majesty,  and  denounced  those  who  would 
lift  the  wounded,  bleeding  and  beaten  wayfarer 
from  the  road-side,  carry  him  home,  or  offer  his 
unfortunate  child  a  cup  of  cold  water  as  agents  of 
darkness.  Mr.  Parris  had  forgotten  some  of  the 
commands  of  the  divine  Master,  whom  he  professed 
to  follow.  He  assailed  "  the  little  maid  furiously." 
That  child  of  sorrow  and  of  tears,  whom  he  had 
never  seen  before,  and  whose  young  heart  ached 
from  the  wrongs  heaped  on  her  innocent  young 
head,  was  to  him  an  object  of  demoniac  fury. 

She  sat  in  the  rear  of  the  church,  and,  covering 
her  face  with  her  hands  as  Mr.  Parris  assailed  her 
father  and  herself,  the  tears  silently  trickled  through 
her  small  fingers.  Goody  Nurse,  who  sat  near  the 
child,  bent  over  and  whispered  some  encouraging 
words  in  her  ear. 

"Verily,  the  Devil's  own  will  be  the  Devil's 
own!"  declared  the  pastor,  his  eyes  flashing  with 
fury.  "When  one  of  Satan's  imps  hath  been 
wounded  by  a  shaft  of  truth,  shot  from  the  bow  of 
God,  the  angels  of  darkness,  verily,  will  hover  over 
the  suffering  devil,  and  seek  to  undo  what  God 
hath  done."  He  called  on  those  suffering  from 
the  familiar  spirits  to  behold  one  even  now  willing 
to  soothe  the  offspring  of  a  wicked  player. 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  121 

When  Cora  left  the  church  that  day,  she  asked 
Mrs.  Stevens  why  Mr.  Parris  hated  her  and  said 
such  hard  things  about  her.  "Surely  I  never 
did  him  harm,  and  why  doth  he  assail  me  so 
cruelly?" 

Mrs.  Stevens  strove  to  comfort  the  wounded 
feelings  of  the  child,  by  assuring  Cora  that  it  was 
the  mistaken  zeal  of  the  minister,  who,  but  for  the 
scales  of  prejudice  covering  his  eyes,  would  by  no 
means  be  so  cruel  with  her. 

"Oh,  would  that  father  would  return  and  take 
me  from  this  place!"  sobbed  Cora. 

"Cora,  are  you  tired  of  me?  Have  I  not  been 
kind  to  you?" 

"  Yes,  you  have,  and  I  thank  you  for  all  your 
goodness." 

"Are  you  not  happy  with  me?" 

"  Yes,  I  could  be  very  happy,  did  not  Mr.  Parris 
say  such  vile  things  of  my  father  and  myself.  Do 
you  think  me  one  of  Satan's  imps?" 

"No,  no,  sweet  child;  you  are  one  of  God's 
angels." 

"But  I  am  the  child  of  a  player,  and  he  said 
none  such  could  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  the 
Lord." 

"  That  is  but  a  display  of  his  prejudice  and  igno 
rance,  Cora.  I  have  read  the  good  book  from  be 
ginning  to  end?  and  nowhere  jig  I  see  anything  in 


122  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

God's  Holy  Bible  that  excludes  even  the  player 
from  entering  into  eternal  rest." 

"But  he,  the  interpreter  of  God's  word,  says  we 
are  doomed." 

"  He  says  more  than  is  narrated  in  the  Book  of 
Life.  If  the  ministers  would  only  keep  constantly 
in  their  minds  these  words:  'For  I  testify  unto 
every  man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy 
of  this  book.  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these 
things,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that 
are  written  in  this  book,'  then  there  would  be  less 
misconstructions  put  upon  the  Bible.  Men  would 
be  more  careful  not  to  accuse  their  brother,  while 
the  beam  was  in  their  own  eye.  Why,  Cora,  you 
are  but  a  child,  and  Christ  said:  'Suffer  little 
children  to  come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not,  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.'  Now,  instead 
of  following  the  holy  precept  of  the  Master,  whom 
he  feigns  to  serve,  he  declares  you  an  imp  of  dark 
ness.  His  zeal  hath  made  him  mad.  Where  is 
your  father?" 

"Alas,  I  know  not." 

"When  will  he  return?" 

"I  know  not." 

"What  are  his  plans?" 

"I  am  wholly  ignorant  of  them." 

Next  day  Charles  Stevens  waj  wandering  through 
the  forest  near  the  sprjpg  where  he  rescued  the 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  123 

wounded  stranger  some  years  before.  Often  had 
he  thought  of  that  melancholy  man  and  the  strange 
resemblance  he  bore  to  Cora's  father. 

"Where  is  he  now,  and  what  has  been  his  fate?" 
he  thought,  as  he  strolled  toward  the  spring.  Sud 
denly  he  paused  and  looked  toward  the  brooklet. 
Well  might  he  be  startled.  The  negro  servants, 
John  and  Tituba,  were  engaged  in  some  of  their 
diabolical  incantations  in  the  stream.  Kneeling 
by  the  water's  side,  each  bent  until  their  foreheads 
touched  the  water,  then,  starting  up,  they  mur 
mured  strange  fetich  words  in  their  diabolical  Afri 
can  tongue.  John  had  a  whip  in  his  hand,  with 
which  he  lashed  the  water  furiously,  and  uttered 
his  eldritch  shrieks.  Charles  paused,  spell-bound, 
hardly  knowing  what  to  make  of  the  strange  con 
duct  of  the  negroes,  and  wishing  he  could  lay  the 
whip  about  their  own  bare  shoulders. 

During  a  lull  in  their  performance,  he  heard  a 
rapid  tread  of  feet  coming  toward  the  spring, 
and  beheld  his  mother,  followed  by  Cora.  No 
sooner  did  the  negroes  see  them,  than  they  left  off 
lashing  the  water  with  their  whips  and,  with  the 
most  wild,  unearthly  screams,  bounded  from  the 
spot  and  ran  off  into  the  woods. 

Mrs.  Stevens  and  Cora  both  screamed,  and  were 
about  to  fly,  when  Charles  emerged  from  his  place 
pf  concealment,  saying: 


124  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Don't  run  away,  I  am  here." 

"Charles!  Charles!  what  were  they  doing?" 
Mrs.  Stevens  asked. 

"It  was  some  of  their  wild  incantations,"  he 
answered.  "  The  knaves  deserve  to  have  a  good 
whip  laid  about  their  bare  backs." 

"  Truly,  they  do.  Why-  did  they  fly  at  our 
approach?"  askfd  Mrs.  Stevens. 

"Perhaps  the  foolish  creatures  thought  their 
spell  was  broken,"  Charles  answered. 

"I  am  so  affrighted,"  said  Cora,  shuddering. 
She  was  growing. dizzy,  and  Mrs.  Stevens  said: 

"Catch  her,  or  she  will  fall." 

He  bore  her  to  the  spring  and,  kneeling  by  the 
brook,  bathed  the  fair  white  brow,  until  she  opened 
her  eyes  and  murmured: 

"Mother!" 

Many  times  afterward,  both  mother  and  son, 
recalling  the  incident,  wondered  why  she,  for  the 
first  time,  had  called  for  her  mother.  At  all  other 
times  and  on  all  other  occasions,  the  maid  per 
sistently  denied  that  she  knew  aught  of  her  mother. 

A  few  days  later,  her  father,  who  had  myste 
riously  and  unceremoniously  disappeared,  returned. 
No  one  asked  any  questions  as  to  where  he  had 
been,  or  what  business  had  engaged  his  attention. 
He  gave  the  widow  some  golden  guineas  for  her 
care  of  his  child,  That  night  Charles  came  acci- 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  125 

dentally  upon  the  father  and  daughter  in  the  garden. 
They  were  sitting  in  a  green  bower,  partially 
screened  from  view,  so  he  approached  to  within  a 
few  paces  without  being  seen. 

"  Father,  have  you  heard  anything  more?"  she 
asked. 

"No." 

"Nor  have  you  seen  any  one  from  there?" 

"I  have  not." 

"Do  you  suppose  danger  is  over?" 

"Danger  never  will  be  over,  until  there  has  been 
a  revolution  in  the  government." 

Long  did  Charles  ponder  over  those  mysterious 
words,  and  ask  himself  what  they  meant.  He 
again  conferred  with  his  mother,  and  when  she  had 
heard  all  he  had  to  tell,  she  was  constrained  to  ask: 

"Who  are  they?" 

Mrs.  Stevens,  like  her  son,  was  too  well  bred  to 
pry  into  the  secrets  of  her  guests.  A  few  days 
later  Mr.  Waters  again  disappeared  and  was  not 
seen  for  two  months. 

It  was  at  the  close  of  a  sultry  day  in  July  that 
Mr.  John  Louder  and  his  neighbor  Ely  were  return 
ing  from  Boston  in  a  cart.  As  usual,  their  conver 
sation  was  of  the  solemn  kind,  characteristic  of  the 
Puritan.  The  many  mysteries  in  nature  and  out 
of  nature  formed  their  principal  topic.  Each  had 
had  his  long,  ardent  conflict  with  sin  and  Satan. 


126  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Each  was  a  firm  believer  in  personal  devils  and 
legions  of  devils.  The  spirits  of  the  air  were 
thought  to  be  all  about  them,  even  at  that  very 
moment. 

"Neighbor  Bly,  I  believe  that  she  is  a  witch," 
said  Louder. 

"Verily,  even  so  do  I." 

"If  the  magistrates  would  so  adjudge  her,  she 
would,  according  to  the  laws,  be  hung"." 

"  Truly  she  would.  I  saw  her  shape  again  last 
night." 

"Did  you?" 

"  Yes,  she  came  to  my  bed  and  did  grievously 
torment  me,  by  sitting  for  fully  two  hours  upon 
my  chest." 

"Why  did  you  not  call  upon  the  name  of  God, 
and  she  would  have  gone?" 

"  Fain  would  I  have  done  so,  had  it  been  pos 
sible;  but  her  appearance  took  from  me  the  power 
of  speech,  and  I  was  dumb.  She  sat  upon  me, 
grinning  at  me,  and  she  said: 

"'Would  ye  speak  if  ye  could?' 

"  Then  at  last  a  yellow  bird  came  in  at  the  win 
dow  and  whispered  some  words  in  her  ear,  and  the 
shape  flew  away  with  a  black  man." 

"  Verily,  neighbor  Bly,  you  have  been  grievously 
tormented;  yet  little  worse  is  your  case  than  my 
own.  My  cattle  are  bewitched  and  die.  The 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  127 

witches  hurl  balls  at  them  from  any  distance,  which 
strike  them,  and  they  shrink  and  die  at  once.  The 
other  morn  I  had  salted  my  cows,  when  one  sud 
denly  showed  strange  signs  of  illness  and  soon  fell 
on  her  side  and  did  die.  Neighbor  Towne,  who 
witnessed  it,  said  the  poor  beast  was  struck  with 
a  witch  ball.  He  says  they  gather  the  hair  from 
the  back  of  the  afflicted  beasts  and,  making  a  ball 
of  it  from  the  spittle  of  their  mouths,  blow  their 
breath  upon  it  and  hurl  it  any  distance  to  an  object. 
The  object  so  struck  will  at  once  wither  and  die. 
He  said  that,  should  I  strip  the  hair  from  the  spine 
of  the  dead  brute,  a  ball  made  of  it  would  strike 
down  any  other  beast  of  the  herd,  even  if  thrown 
by  my  own  hand." 

With  a  sigh,  Ely  said: 

"  Truly,  we  live  in  the  age  when  the  devil  is  to 
be  loosed  for  a  little  season.  Would  to  Heaven, 
St.  John  would  again  chain  the  dragon." 

The  sun  had  almost  dipped  behind  the  long  line 
of  blue  hills.  A  listless  repose,  peculiar  to  New 
England  autumns,  seemed  to  have  settled  over  the 
hills  and  valleys  about  the  neighborhood  of  Salem. 
A  drowsy,  dreamy  influence  overhung  land  and 
sea  and  pervaded  the  very  atmosphere.  No  won 
der  that  the  superstitious  Puritans  of  that  day  and 
age  believed  the  place  bewitched.  Certain  it  is,  that 
it  seemed  under  the  same  power,  that  held  strange 


128  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

spells  over  the  minds  of  the  good  people,  causing 
them  to  walk  in  a  continual  revery.  These  early 
Puritans  were  given  to  all  kinds  of  marvellous  be 
liefs,  as  we  have  seen,  subjected  to  trances  and 
visions,  and  frequently  saw  strange  sights,  and 
heard  wonderful  noises  in  the  air.  All  Salem 
abounded  with  local  tales,  haunted  spots  and  twi 
light  superstitions.  Shooting  stars  and  flaming 
meteors  were  more  often  seen  about  that  enchanted 
spot,  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  country. 

The  two  travellers  silently  jogged  along  in  the 
cart,  casting  occasional  glances  down  the  road. 
Just  before  reaching  Salem,  the  road  dipped  below 
the  trees,  which  concealed  some  glens  and  breaks, 
above  which  only  the  church,  standing  in  the  sub 
urb  of  the  village,  could  be  seen.  The  seques 
tered  situation  of  the  meeting-house  seemed  to  have 
always  made  it  a  favorite  resort  for  troubled  spirits. 
It  stood  on  a  knoll,  surrounded  by  beech  trees  and 
lofty  elms,  from  among  which  its  decent  white 
washed  walls  shone  modestly  forth,  as  the  only 
bright  object  among  so  much  sombre  gloom  and 
shade.  A  broad  path  wound  its  way  down  a  gentle 
slope  to  the  creek,  which  emptied  into  the  bay, 
bordered  by  tall  trees,  through  which  glimpses  of 
the  sea  and  blue  hills  might  be  caught.  Between 
the  travellers  and  the  church  extended  a  wide, 
woody  dell,  along  which  the  brook  roved  among 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  129 

broken  rocks  and  trunks  of  fallen  trees.  Over  a 
deep,  black  part  of  the  stream  was  thrown  a  bridge. 
The  road  which  led  up  to  it  was  thickly  shaded, 
and  in  places  indistinguishable  at  any  great  dis 
tance  by  overhanging  trees,  which  cast  a  gloom 
about  it,  eve.n  in  daytime,  but  occasioned  a  fearful 
darkness- at  night.1  This  place  was  reputed  to  be  a 
favorite  resort  for  the  witches  of  Salem,  for  they 
had  frequently  been  seen  dancing  upon  the  bridge. 

It  was  with  some  degree  of  nervousness  that  the 
travellers  drew  near  to  the  bridge.  The  sun  had 
dipped  behind  the  blue  hills  of  the  west,  and  the 
pale,  lambent  glow  of  the  evening  star  shot  athwart 
the  sky,  ere  the  bridge  was  reached.  While  it  was 
yet  twilight  in  the  uplands,  it  was  night  here. 
The  hollow  sounds  of  the  horse's  feet  on  the  bridge 
chilled  the  hearts  of  the  occupants  of  the  cart,  and 
when  the  outline  of  a  horse  and  rider  appeared  on 
the  other  side,  Louder  seized  Ely  by  the  arm  and 
gasped: 

"God  save  us!  Where  did  they  come  from? 
They  were  not  there  a  moment  before." 

"They  rose  up  out  of  the  ground." 

Their  horse,  which  was  very  much  frightened, 
would  have  dashed  down  the  road  had  not  the  horse 
man  brought  his  steed  directly  across  their  path. 

"Your  beast  seems  affrighted,"  coolly  remarked 
the  horseman. 
9 


130  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

At  sound  of  his  voice,  Louder  gave  utterance  to 
a  wild  yell  of  dismay.  The  horse  stood  trembling 
and  refused  to  move  the  cart  an  inch.  Louder 
rose  from  the  seat  and  glared  through  the  deepen 
ing  gloom  at  the  stranger.  That  white  face,  those 
great,  sad  eyes  once  seen  could  never  be  forgotten. 
He  uttered  a  yell  of  horror,  crying: 

"Begone,  wizard!  The  armor  of  God  be  be 
tween  me  and  thee !  Fiend  of  the  regions  of  dark 
ness,  it  was  thou  who  offered  me  the  book  to  sign. 
Away!  begone!  tempt  me  no  more,  for,  by  the 
grace  of  Heaven,  I  defy  you!  I  will  not  sign!" 

At  this  moment,  the  horse  at  the  cart,  seeing  an 
opening  in  the  road,  dashed  on  to  the  village,  leav 
ing  the  horseman  gazing  in  mute  wonder  after 
them.  His  white  face  wore  a  puzzled  and  pained 
look.  He  turned  his  horse's  head  into  another 
path,  saying: 

"  It  has  been  some  years  since  I  was  here,  and 
yet,  if  I  mistake  not,  this  is  surely  the  path  that 
leads  to  her  house." 

Thirty  minutes  later,  the  same  horseman  drew 
rein  in  front  of  the  widow  Stevens'  cottage  and, 
dismounting,  tied  his  horse  to  a  small  tree  and  ap 
proached  the  house.  A  light  was  shining  through 
the  window,  and  the  whirr  of  the  wheel  told  that 
the  industrious  widow  .was  at  her  evening  work. 
He  rapped  at  the  door  and  was  bidden  enter.  On 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  131 

entering,  be  discovered  that  three  persons  occupied 
the  cottage — the  widow,  her  son  and  a  beautiful, 
sunny-haired  maiden.  The  latter  started  up  at  his 
appearance,  crying: 

"Father!  father!"  and,  leaping  forward,  threw 
her  arms  about  his  neck.  The  new-comer  looked 
in  amazement  upon  the  girl,  but  made  no  answer. 

"Father,  father,  why  don't  you  speak?" 

"There  is  some  mistake!"  he  began. 

"Are  you  not  my  father?" 

"I  never  saw  you  before,  little  maid." 

Then  Cora  started  back  and  gave  the  stranger  a 
curious  glance.  He  looked  exactly  like  her  father, 
save  that  he  was  dressed  almost  wholly  in  buck 
skin,  and  had  a  wild,  forest-like  appearance. 
Then,  as  she  scrutinized  him  more  closely,  she  per 
ceived  a  slight  scar  on  his  left  cheek.  This  was 
not  on  her  father's  face. 

"  You  are  not  my  father;  but  you  are  very  like 
him,"  she  said. 

"I  am  not  your  father,  little  maid.  I  came  to 
thank  these  people  for  their  kindness  to  me  a  few 
years  ago." 

"Are  you  he  whom  I  found  by  the  brook, 
wounded  and  dying?"  asked  Charles. 

"I  am." 

"Your  mysterious  disappearance  occasioned 
much  comment." 


132  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Before  the  stranger  could  frame  an  answer,  the 
door  was  again  thrown  open,  and  this  time  it  was 
Cora's  father,  in  reality,  who  entered  the  house. 
She  sprang  to  him,  saying: 

"  Father,  I  see  now  there  is  a  difference  between 
you  and  him!" 

For  the  first  time,  George  Waters  saw  the 
stranger.  As  their  eyes  met,  each  started,  gazed 
at  the  other  a  moment,  as  if  to  be  assured  he  was 
right,  and  then  George  Waters  cried: 

"Harry!" 

"George!" 

.  A  dramatic  episode,  such  as  is  so  often  acted 
upon  the  stage,  or  described  in  novels,  followed, 
and,  by  degrees,  the  small  audience  caught  from 
words  dropped  by  the  men,  that  they  were  brothers, 
who  had  long  been  separated,  and  had  been  search 
ing  for  each  other. 

When  the  excitement  attending  the  discovery 
had  in  a  measure  subsided,  the  brothers  walked 
down  toward  the  spring,  where,  seating  themselves 
on  a  moss-grown  stone,  George  Waters  told  his 
brother  of  joining  Monmouth's  army,  of  being  ar 
rested  and  sold  as  a  slave  in  Virginia,  and  of  his 
escape  and  long  perilous  flight  to  New  England. 

"  Where  have  you  been  since  you  were  here, 
Harry?" 

"I  was  a  captive  among  the  Indians  for  a  few 


TWO  MEN  WHO  LOOK  ALIKE.  133 

months,  was  liberated  by  some  French  Jesuits  and 
went  to  France  and  thence  to  England,  hoping  to 
see  you.  I  was  several  weeks  at  our  old  home  near 
Stockton.  Then  I  came  back  to  America  and  have 
been  in  New  York  trading  in  furs." 

A  silence  of  several  moments  followed.  George, 
whose  soul  seemed  stirred  with  some  deep  emotions, 
asked : 

"  Harry,  while  in  England,  in  Stockton,  did  you 
see  her?" 

Harry  knew  to  whom  he  referred,  and  he  an 
swered  : 

"No." 

"Where  is  she?" 

"I  know  not." 

"Do  you  know  whether  she  be  living  or  dead?" 

"I  do  not." 

"God  grant  that  she  be  dead!" 

At  this  moment,  Cora,  who  had  followed  behind 
them  and  overheard  their  strange  words,  came  for 
ward  and  asked: 

"Father,  what  do  you  mean?" 

"Nothing,  child.  There,  let  us  return  to  the 
house,  for  it  is  growing  late." 

Then,  as  they  walked  up  the  gentle  slope  to  the 
cabin  of  the  widow,  the  maiden  repeated  to  herself : 

"But  he  does  mean  something!" 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

MOVING   ONWARD. 

Laws  formed  to  harmonize  contrarious  creeds, 

And  heal  the  wounds  through  which  a  nation  bleeds  ; 

Laws  mild,  impartial,  tolerant  and  fixed, 

A  bond  of  union  for  a  people  mixed  ; 

Such  as  good  Calvert  framed  for  Baltimore, 

And  Penn  the  Numa  of  th'  Atlantic  shore. 

THE  Stevens  family  were  so  intimately  related 
to  their  country,  that  the  history  of  one  is  the  his 
tory  of  the  other.  Philip  Stevens,  or  Estevan,  had 
located  in  the  south  and  left  behind  a  numerous 
progeny,  while  his  brother  Mathew,  who  came  over 
in  the  Mayflower,  had  left  an  equally  large  family 
in  New  England.  Their  descendants  began  to 
push  out  into  the  frontier  colonies,  those  in  the 
south  going  as  far  north  as  Pennsylvania,  and  those 
in  the  east  pushing  out  westward  to  New  York  and 
New  Jersey. 

The  family  were  lovers  of  freedom,  and,  wherever 

a  struggle  has  been  made  on  American  soil  for 

liberty,  one  of  these  descendants  of  the  youth  who 

landed  on  American  soil  with  Columbus,  in  1492, 

134 


MOVING   ONWARD.  135 

has  been  found.  They  disliked  Andros,  and  the 
members  of  this  now  extensive  and  widely  scattered 
family  were  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  so  to  speak, 
when  King  James,  in  1688,  gave  Andros  a  vice 
regal  commission  to  rule  New  York  and  all  New 
England. 

When  the  viceroy  journeyed  from  Boston  to 
New  York  City,  early  in  August  the  same  year, 
George  Stevens,  a  cousin  of  Charles,  accompanied 
him,  and  saw  Andros  received  by  Colonel  Bayard's 
regiment  of  foot  and  horse,  who  was  entertained 
by  the  loyal  aristocrat.  In  the  midst  of  the  rejoic 
ings,  the  news  came  that  the  queen,  the  second 
wife  of  James,  had  been  blessed  with  a  son,  who 
became  heir  to  the  throne.  The  event  was  cele 
brated  the  same  evening  by  bonfires  in  the  streets 
and  a  feast  at  the  city  hall.  At  the  latter,  Major 
Van  Cortlandt  became  so  hilarious,  that  he  made 
a  burnt  sacrifice  to  his  loyalty  of  his  hat  and  peri 
wig,  waving  the  burning  victims  over  the  banquet 
table  on  the  point  of  his  straight  sword. 

Princess  Mary,  the  eldest  daughter  of  King 
James,  had  married  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  this 
new  birth  in  the  royal  family  was  a  disappoint 
ment  to  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  New  York,  as 
well  as  the  Protestant  republicans,  who  had  begun 
to  hope  that  William  and  Mary  would  succeed 
James  to  the  throne  of  England.  This  event  inten- 


136  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

sified  the  general  discontent,  because  of  the  consoli 
dation  of  New  York  with  New  England  and  the 
abridgment  of  their  rights,  and  the  people  were 
ready  to  rebel  at  almost  any  moment,  especially 
as  Andros  had  rendered  himself  particularly  ob 
noxious. 

Like  the  other  colonies,  Maryland  was  shaken 
by  the  revolution  in  England,  in  1688,  and,  for 
a  while,  experienced  deep  sorrows.  The  democratic 
ideas,  which,  for  several  years,  had  been  spreading 
over  the  provinces,  could  not  reconcile  the  rule  of 
a  lord  proprietor  with  the  true  principles  of  repub 
licanism.  Even  when  Charles  Calvert  went  to 
England  after  the  death  of  his  father,  signs  of 
political  discontent  were  conspicuous  in  Maryland. 
In  1678,  the  general  assembly,  influenced  by  the 
popular  feeling,  established  the  right  of  suffrage — 
"  casting  of  a  vote  for  rulers" — on  a  broad  basis. 
On  the  return  of  Charles,  in  1681,  he  annulled  this 
act  and,  by  an  arbitrary  ordinance,  resisted  the 
right  of  freemen  owning  fifty  acres  of  land,  or  per 
sonal  property  of  the  value  of  forty  pounds  sterling. 
This  produced  great  disquietude,  and  Ex-Governor 
Fendall  planned  an  insurrection  for  the  purpose  of 
abolishing  the  proprietorship  and  establishing  an 
independent  republican  government.  The  king 
was  induced  to  issue  orders  that  all  the  offices  of 
the  government  in  Maryland  should  be  filled  by 


MOVING   ONWARD.  137 

Protestants  alone;  and  so,  again,  the  Eoman  Catho 
lics  were  deprived  of  their  political  rights. 

Lord  Baltimore  went  to  England  again,  in  1684, 
leaving  the  government  of  his  province  in  charge  of 
several  deputies  under  the  nominal  governorship 
of  his  infant  son.  There  he  found  his  rights  in 
great  peril ;  but  before  the  matter  could  be  brought 
to  a  direct  issue  by  the  operation  of  a  writ  of  quo 
warranto,  King  James  was  driven  from  the  throne, 
and  Protestant  William  and  Mary  ascended  it. 
Lord  Baltimore  immediately  acquiesced  in  the 
political  change.  On  account  of  his  instructions 
to  his  deputies  to  proclaim  the  new  monarchs  being 
delayed  in  their  transmission,  he  was  charged  with 
hesitancy;  and  a  restless  spirit  named  Coode,  an 
associate  of  Fendall  in  his  insurrectionary  move 
ments — "  a  man  of  loose  morals  and  blasphemous 
speech" — excited  the  people  by  the  cry  of  "  a  pop 
ish  plot!"  He  was  the  author  of  a  false  story  put 
in  circulation,  that  the  local  magistrates  in  Mary 
land  and  the  Eoman  Catholics  there  had  engaged 
with  the  Indians  in  a  plot  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Protestants  in  the  province.  An  actual  league  at 
that  time  between  the  French  and  the  Jesuit  mis 
sionaries  with  the  savages  on  the  New  England 
frontiers  for  the  destruction  of  the  English  colonies 
in  the  east  seemed  to  give  color  to  the  story,  which 
created  great  excitement.  The  old  feud  burned  in- 


138  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

tensely.  The  Protestants  formed  an  armed  associa 
tion  led  by  Coode.  They  marched  to  the  Maryland 
capital,  took  possession  of  the  records  and  assumed 
the  functions  of  a  provisional  government,  in  May, 
1689.  In  the  following  August  they  met  in  con 
vention,  when  they  prepared  and  sent  to  the  new 
sovereigns  a  report  of  their  proceedings,  and  a 
series  of  absurd  and  false  accusations  against  Lord 
Baltimore.  In  conclusion,  they  requested  the 
monarchs  to  depose  Lord  Baltimore  by  making 
Maryland  a  royal  province  and  taking  it  under  the 
protection  of  the  crown. 

William  and  Mary  listened  favorably  to  the  re 
quest  and,  moved  by  the  false  representations,  com 
plied  with  it.  Coode  was  ordered  to  administer 
the  government  in  the  name  of  the  king.  He 
ruled  with  the  spirit  of  a  petty  tyrant,  until  the 
people  of  every  religious  and  political  creed  were 
heartily  disgusted  with  him,  and,  in  1692,  he  was 
supplanted  by  Sir  Lionel  Copley,  whom  the  king 
sent  to  be  governor  of  Maryland.  On  the  arrival 
of  the  new  governor,  in  the  spring  of  1692,  he 
summoned  a  general  assembly,  to  meet  at  St. 
Mary's  in  May.  New  laws  abolishing  religious 
toleration  were  instituted.  The  church  of  England 
was  made  the  state  church  for  Maryland,  to  be  sup 
ported  by  a  tax  on  the  whole  people. 

"Thus,"  says  McMahan,  "was  introduced,   for 


MOVING  ONWARD.  139 

the  first  time  in  Maryland,  a  church  establishment, 
sustained  by  law  and  fed  by  general  taxation." 
Other  laws  oppressive  in  their  bearings  upon  those 
opposed  in  religious  views  to  the  dominant  party 
were  enacted,  some  of  which  remained  in  force  un 
til  the  glorious  emancipation  day,  in  the  summer 
of  1776,  gave  freedom  to  our  nation. 

Partly  in  order  to  better  accommodate  the  people 
of  Maryland,  but  more  for  the  purpose  of  punish 
ing  the  adherents  of  Lord  Baltimore,  who  consti 
tuted  a  greater  proportion  of  the  population  of  St. 
Mary's,  the  seat  of  government  was  moved  from 
there  to  Anne  Arundel,  a  town  on  the  shore  of  the 
Chesapeake,  early  in  1694,  and  there  a  general  as 
sembly  was  convened  in  February.  The  follow 
ing  year,  the  name  of  the  place  was  changed  by 
authority  to  Annapolis,  and  the  naval  station  of 
the  province  was  established  there.  Annapolis 
has,  ever  since,  continued  to  be  the  capital  of  Mary 
land,  while  St.  Mary's,  dependent  for  its  existence 
upon  its  being  the  capital  of  the  province,  speedily 
sunk  into  ruins. 

Lord  Baltimore  never  recovered  his  proprietary 
rights.  Neither  did  he  return  to  America,  but  died 
in  England  in  the  year  1714,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Benedict 
Leonard  Calvert.  That  son  had  abandoned  the 
faith  of  his  father  and,  in  the  spring  of  1715,  died, 


140  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

when  his  title  to  the  province  devolved  upon  his 
infant  son  Charles,  who,  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  had  been  educated  as  Protestants.  Charles 
Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore  and  William  Penn  were 
contemporaries,  and  were  equally  conspicuous  for 
their  beneficent  disposition.  They  are  regarded  as 
the  best  of  all  the  proprietors,  who  owned  charted 
domains  in  America. 

Eufus  Stevens,  an  uncle  of  Charles  Stevens,  the 
youth  of  Salem,  was  living  in  New  Jersey,  when 
Lord  Berkeley,  disgusted  by  the  losses  and  annoy 
ances  which  the  ownership  of  the  colony  brought 
upon  him,  sold  his  interests  in  the  province'to  John 
Fenwick  and  Edward  Byllinge,  English  Friends, 
or  Quakers,  for  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars. 
The  tract  thus  disposed  of  was  in  the  western  part 
of  the  province.  With  some  emigrants,  mostly  of 
the  society  of  Friends,  Fenwick  sailed  for  his  new 
possessions.  They  entered  at  a  spot  not  far  from 
the  Delaware  Kiver,  which  they  named  Salem,  on 
account  of  the  peaceful  aspect  of  the  country  and 
the  surrounding  Indians.  There,  with  the  peculiar 
gravity  of  the  sect,  Fenwick  and  his  two  daughters, 
thirteen  men  (most  of  them  heads  of  families)  and 
one  woman,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  emigrants,  sat 
in  silent  worship,  according  to  their  custom,  under 
the  shadow  of  a  great  tree,  with  covered  heads 
and  quiet  bodies,  on  the  ensuing  "First  Day"  after 


MOVING   ONWARD.  141 

their  arrival.  Then  they  built  log  cabins  for  shelter, 
and  so  began  a  new  life  in  the  wilds  of  New  Jersey. 

The  principal  proprietor  was  Byllinge;  but  soon 
after  the  departure  of  Fen  wick,  heavy  losses  in 
trade  made  him  a  bankrupt,  and  his  interest  in 
New  Jersey  was  first  assigned  to  William  Penn  and 
others  for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors,  and  was  after 
ward  sold  to  them.  These  purchasers  and  others 
who  became  associated  with  them,  unwilling  to 
maintain  a  political  union  with  other  parties,  bar 
gained  with  Carteret  for  a  division  of  the  province. 
This  was  done  in  July,  1676,  Carteret  retaining 
the  eastern  part  of  the  province,  and  the  new  pur 
chasers  holding  the  western  part.  From  that  time, 
until  they  were  united  and  became  a  royal- province 
in  1702,  these  divisions  were  known  as  East  and 
West  Jersey.  Even  to  this  day,  we  frequently 
hear  the  expression,  "The  Jerseys,"  used. 

Most  of  the  settlers  of  West  Jersey  were  Friends, 
and  the  proprietors  gave  them  a  remarkably  liberal 
constitution  of  government,  entitled:  "The  con 
cessions  and  agreements  of  the  proprietors,  free 
holders  and  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  West 
Jersey  in  America."  The  following  year  (1677), 
more  than  four  hundred  Friends  came  from  England 
and  settled  below  the  Raritan.  Andros  required 
them  to  acknowledge  his  authority  as  the  repre 
sentative  of  the  Duke  of  York.  This  they  refused 


142  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

to  do,  and  the  matter  was  referred  to  the  eminent 
crown-lawyer  and  oriental  scholar,  Sir  William 
Jones,  for  adjudication.  Sir  William  decided 
against  the  claims  of  the  duke,  who  submitted  to 
the  decision,  released  both  provinces  from  allegiance 
to  him,  and  the  Jerseys  became  independent  of 
foreign  control.  The  first  popular  assembly  in 
West  Jersey  met  at  Salem,  in  November,  1681, 
and  adopted  a  code  of  laws  for  the  government  of 
the  people.  One  of  these  laws  provided  that  in  all 
criminal  cases,  excepting  treason,  murder  and  theft, 
the  aggrieved  party  should  have  power  to  pardon 
the  offender. 

In  the  year  1679,  Carteret  died,  and  the  trustees 
of  his  American  estates  offered  East  Jersey  for  sale. 
It  was  bought,  in  1682,  by  William  Penn  and 
others,  among  them  the  earl  of  Perth,  the  friend 
of  Robert  Barclay,  whom  the  proprietors  appointed 
governor  for  life.  Barclay  was  an  eminent  young 
Friend,  whose  writings  were  held  in  high  estima 
tion  by  his  own  sect,  especially  his  "Apology  for 
the  true  Christian  Divinity,  as  the  same  is  held 
forth  and  practised  by  the  people  called  in  scorn 
Quakers,"  and  his  "Treatise  on  Christian  Disci 
pline."  The  purchase  of  these  lands  was  not  made 
in  the  interest  of  either  religion  or  liberty,  but  as  a 
speculation.  Barclay  governed  the  province  by 
deputies  until  1690. 


MOVING  ONWARD.  143 

England  and  Scotland  contributed  a  large  num 
ber  of  Friends  to  East  Jersey,  and  other  immigrants 
flocked  from  Long  Island,  to  find  repose  and  peace; 
but  repose  is  not  to  be  found  by  lovers  of  freedom, 
under  royal  rule,  and  they  were  forcibly  impressed 
with  the  significance  of  the  injunction,  "Put  not 
your  trust  in  princes,"  for  James  the  king  failed  to 
keep  the  rosy  promises  of  James  the  duke,  and 
they  were  forced  to  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  An- 
dros.  When  that  detested  viceroy  was  expelled 
from  the  country,  in  1689,  the  Jerseys  were  left 
without  a  regular  civil  government,  and  so  they 
remained  for  several  years.  Wearied  with  con 
tentions,  with  the  people  of  the  provinces  and  with 
the  government  at  home,  and  annoyed  by  losses  in 
unprofitable  speculations,  the  proprietors  of  the 
Jerseys  surrendered  them  to  the  crown,  in  1702, 
when  Queen  Anne  was  the  reigning  British  mon 
arch.  The  government  of  that  domain  was  then 
confided  to  Sir  Edward  Hyde  (Lord  Cornbury), 
whose  instructions  constituted  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land.  He  was  then  governor  of  New  York  and 
possessed  almost  absolute  legislative  and  executive 
control  within  the  jurisdiction  of  his  authority. 
In  New  Jersey  the  people  had  no  voice  in  the 
judiciary  or  the  making  and  executing  of  laws  other 
than  recommendatory.  All  but  Roman  Catholics 
were  granted  liberty  of  conscience;  but  the  bigoted 


144  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

governor  always  showed  conspicuous  favors  to  the 
members  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  governor 
was  dishonest  and  a  libertine,  and  under  his  rule 
the  people  of  New  Jersey  were  little  better  than 
slaves.  Printing,  except  by  royal  permission,  was 
prohibited  in  the  province,  and  the  traffic  in  negro 
slaves  was  especially  encouraged. 

New  Jersey  remained  a  dependency  of  New 
York,  yet  with  a  distinct  legislative  assembly  of 
its  own,  until  the  year  1738,  when  it  was  made  an 
independent  colony,  and  it  so  remained  until  the 
Revolutionary  War,  when  it  became  a  separate 
State.  After  the  province  gained  its  freedom  from 
New  York,  Mr.  Morris  was  commissioned  its  gov 
ernor.  He  was  the  son  of  an  officer  in  Cromwell's 
army,  who,  about  the  year  1672,  settled  on  a  farm 
of  three  thousand  acres  on  the  Harlem  River,  New 
York,  which  was  named  Morrisania. 

Last  of  the  royal  governors  of  New  Jersey  was 
William  Franklin,  son  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin, 
who  was  appointed  in  1763,  and  closed  his  official 
career  in  the  summer  of  1776,  when  he  was  de 
posed  by  the  continental  congress  and  sent  under 
guard  to  Connecticut.  There  he  was  released  on 
parole  and  went  to  England,  where  he  died  in 
1813. 

One  of  the  Stevens  family  having  served  as  gov 
ernor  of  North  Carolinia,  it  was  only  natural  that 


MOVING  ONWARD.  145 

other  members  of  the  southern  branch  of  that  rapidly 
increasing  family  in  the  south  should  push  out  into 
'the  Carolinias  and  take  part  in  the  early  settlement 
of  these  colonies. 

After  the  failure  of  the  schemes  of  Loche  and 
Cooper  to  form  "Fundamental  Constitutions," 
a  splendid  government,  in  1669,  was  completed. 
The  "constitutions"  were  signed  in  March,  1670, 
and  were  highly  lauded  in  England,  as  forming 
the  wisest  scheme  for  human  government  ever 
devised.  Monk,  Duke  of  Albemarle,  was  created 
palatine  or  viceroy  for  the  new  empire,  who  was  to 
display  the  state  parade  of  his  office,  with  land 
graves,  barons,  lords  of  manor  and  heraldry,  among 
the  scattered  settlers  in  pine  forests,  living  in  log 
cabins  with  the  Indians.  Never  was  a  more  ludi 
crous  idea  entertained  with  any  degree  of  serious 
ness;  yet,  so  far  as  the  proprietors  were  concerned, 
this  splendid  government  was  established;  but  the 
simple  settlers  had  something  to  say;  and  when 
the  governor  of  the  Albemarle  county  colony  at 
tempted  to  introduce  the  new  government,  they 
said,  "  No. "  They  had  a  form  of  government  of 
their  own,  far  better  adapted  to  their  social  circum 
stances  than  the  one  sent  from  England,  and  they 
resolved  to  adhere  to  it. 

All  attempts  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  new 
form  of  government,  all  oppressive  taxation  im- 
10 


146  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

posed  upon  the  people,  and  especially  the  com 
mercial  restrictions  authorized  by  the  English  nav 
igation  laws,  produced  wide-spread  discontent. 
Most  particularly  was  this  fostered  by  refugees 
from  Virginia,  who  had  been  engaged  in  Bacon's 
rebellion,  and  who  sought  personal  safety  among 
the  people  below  the  Roanoke.  These  refugees, 
smarting  under  the  lash  of  tyranny,  scattered 
broadcast  over  the  generous  soil  the  germinal  ideas 
of  popular  freedom,  and  successful  oppression  was 
made  difficult,  if  not  impossible. 

At  this  period,  North  Carolinia  did  not  contain 
four  thousand  inhabitants.  They  carried  on  a 
small  trade  in  tobacco,  maize  and  fat  cattle  with 
the  merchants  of  New  England.  This  sort  of 
smuggling  was  perhaps  excusable,  when  we  con 
sider  the  grinding  navigation  laws  of  the  monopo 
lists.  The  little  vessels,  trading  between  North 
Carolinia  and  New  England,  brought  many  articles 
to  the  southern  colonies,  which  they  were  incapable 
of  producing.  English  cupidity  envied  them  their 
small  prosperity,  and  the  navigation  laws  of  1672 
were  put  in  force.  An  agent  of  the  government 
appeared,  who  demanded  a  penny  for  every  pound 
of  tobacco  sent  to  New  England.  The  colonists  re 
sisted  the  levy  and  the  tax-gatherer  became  rude 
and  had  frequent  collisions  with  the  people.  On 
one  occasion,  he  went  to  the  home  of  Francisco 


THE   STURDY    WIFE    ASSAILED    HIM    WITH    1IEK   MOI'-STICK   AND   DROVE   HIM    AWAY. 


MOVING  ONWARD.  147 

Stevens,  a  planter,  who  had  shipped  some  tobacco 
to  a  relative  in  Boston,  and  demanded  a  steer  in 
payment  for  the  shipment.  The  tax-gatherer  at 
tempted  to  drive  away  the  ox,  when  the  sturdy 
wife  assailed  him  with  her  mop-stick  and  drove 
him  from  the  premises. 

The  exasperated  people  finally,  in  December, 
1677,  seized  the  public  funds  and  imprisoned  the 
governor  and  six  of  his  councillors,  called  a  new 
representative  assembly  and  appointed  a  chief  mag 
istrate  and  judge.  Then,  for  two  years,  the  colo 
nists  were  permitted  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  their 
government  without  any  foreign  control.  Mean 
while,  John  Culpepper,  their  leader,  whom  the 
royalists  denounced  as  an  "  ill  man,  who  merited 
hanging  for  endeavoring  to  set  the  people  to  plunder 
the  rich,"  conscious  of  his  integrity,  went  boldly 
to  England  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  colony. 
While  in  the  act  of  re-embarking  for  America,  he 
was  arrested,  tried  for  treason  and  honorably  ac 
quitted.  Returning  to  North  Carolinia,  he  was 
appointed  surveyor-general  of  the  province,  and, 
in  1680,  laid  out  the  city  of  Charleston  in  South 
Carolinia. 

Until  the  arrival  of  Seth  Sothel  as  governor, 
North  Carolinia  enjoyed  a  period  of  repose.  He 
had  purchased  a  share  in  the  provinces  of  Claren 
don,  and  was  sent  to  administer  the  government. 


148  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

On  his  voyage,  he  was  captured  by  Algerine 
pirates,  but,  escaping  them,  reached  North  Caro- 
linia,  in  1683. 

It  has  been  said  of  this  avaricious,  extortionate 
and  cruel  statesman,  that  "the  dark  shades  of  his 
character  were  not  relieved  by  a  single  virtue." 
His  advent  disturbed  the  public  tranquillity.  He 
plundered  the  people,  cheated  the  proprietors,  and 
on  all  occasions  seems  to  have  prostituted  his  del 
egated  power  to  purposes  of  private  gain.  About 
six  weeks  of  his  misrule  were  all  the  independent 
colonists  could  stand.  Then  the  people  rose  in  re 
bellion,  seized  the  governor,  and  were  about  to 
send  him  to  England  to  answer  their  accusations 
before  the  proprietors,  when  he  asked  to  be  tried 
by  the  colonial  assembly.  It  is  asserted  by  his 
torians  of  note,  that  that  body  was  more  merciful 
than  his  associates  in  England  would  have  been, 
for  they  found  him  guilty  and  sentenced  him  to 
only  one  year's  punishment  and  perpetual  dis 
qualification  for  the  office  of  governor. 

Sothel  withdrew  to  the  southern  colony,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Philip  Lu dwell,  an  energetic,  honest 
man,  whose  wisdom  and  sense  of  justice  soon  re 
stored  order  and  good  feeling  in  the  colony.  He 
was  succeeded  by  John  Archdale,  a  Quaker,  who, 
in  1 695,  came  as  governor  of  the  two  colonies.  His 
administration  was  a  blessing.  The  people  over 


MOVING  ONWARD.  149 

whom  he  ruled  were  as  free  in  their  opinions  and 
actions  as  the  air  they  breathed.  Legal  or  moral 
restraints  were  few ;  yet  the  gentle-minded  people 
were  enemies  to  violence  or  crime.  They  were 
widely  scattered,  with  not  a  city  or  town  and  scarce 
a  hamlet  within  their  sylvan  domain.  The  only 
roads  were  bridle  paths  from  house  to  house,  and 
these  were  indicated  by  notches  cut  in  trees — 
"blazed  roads."  There  was  not  a  settled  minister 
in  the  colony  until  1703. 

The  southern,  or  Carteret  County  Colony  was, 
meanwhile,  steadily  moving  along  in  population 
and  wealth.  The  settlers,  perceiving  the  fatal  ob 
jections  to  the  "  Fundamental  Constitutions"  as  a 
plan  of  government  for  their  colony,  did  not  at 
tempt  conforming  thereto,  but  established  a  more 
simple  government  adapted  to  their  conditions. 
Under  it,  the  first  legislative  assembly  of  South 
Carolinia  convened,  in  the  spring  of  1672,  at  the 
place  on  the  Ashley  Kiver  where  the  colony  was 
first  seated.  In  that  body,  jarring  political,  social 
and  theological  interests  and  opinions  produced 
passionate  debates  and  violent  discord.  South 
Carolinia  has  ever  been  a  seething  political  cal 
dron,  and,  even  in  that  early  date,  there  was  a 
proprietary  party  and  a  people's  party,  a  high 
church  party  and  a  dissenters'  party,  each  bigoted 
and  resolute.  At  times,  the  debates  were  so  heated 


150  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

and  earnest,  that  they  seemed  on  the  eve  of  plung 
ing  the  colony  into  civil  war. 

The  savages  had  commenced  plundering  the 
frontier,  and  all  factions  of  the  whites  were  forced 
to  unite  against  this  common  enemy.  The  bold 
frontiersman,  with  his  trusty  rifle,  was  often  un 
able  to  defend  his  home.  His  cattle  were  run 
away  or  slaughtered  before  his  very  eyes.  Old 
Town  was  the  first  point  selected  for  the  capital; 
but  Charleston  was  finally  laid  out  on  Oyster  Point, 
and  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to  this 
city,  where  the  second  assembly  met,  in  1682. 
Immigrants  flowed  in  with  a  full  and  continuous 
stream.  Families  came  from  Ireland,  Scotland  and 
Holland,  and  when  the  edict  at  Nantes,  which 
secured  toleration  to  Protestants  in  France,  was 
revoked,  a  large  number  of  Huguenots  fled  from 
their  country,  and  many  sought  an  asylum  in  the 
Carolinias.  The  traditionary  hatred  of  the  English 
for  the  French  was  shown  at  this  time.  For  fully 
ten  years  these  French  refugees  were  deprived  the 
privilege  of  citizenship  in  the  land  of  their  adoption. 

A  colony  of  JScotch  Presbyterians,  numbering 
ten  families,  was  located  at  Port  Royal,  South 
Carolinia,  in  1682,  and  four  years  later  was  at 
tacked  and  dispersed  by  the  Spaniards,  who  claimed 
Port  Royal  as  a  dependency  of  St.  Augustine. 

The  persecution  of  the  Huguenots   in   France 


MOVING  ONWARD.  151 

drove  many  to  seek  homes  in  the  colonies,  despite 
English  hatred  to  them. 

The  struggles  of  South  Carolinia  with  the  In 
dians,  and  the  attempted  oppression  of  the  home 
government  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  experience  of 
the  other  colonies,  until  the  good  John  Archdale 
came  as  governor  of  the  Carolinias.  His  adminis 
tration  was  short,  but  highly  beneficial.  He  healed 
dissensions,  established  equitable  laws,  in  the  spirit 
of  a  true  Christian  example  of  toleration  and  hu 
manity.  He  cultivated  friendly  intercourse  with 
the  Indians  and  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine,  so 
that  his  administration  was  marked  as  a  season  of 
peace,  prosperity  and  happiness. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CHARLES  AND   CORA. 

We  wandered  to  the  pine  forest, 

That  skirts  the  ocean  foam. 
The  lightest  wind  was  in  its  nest, 

The  tempest  in  its  home. 
The  whispering  waves  were  half  asleep 

The  clouds  were  gone  to  play, 
And  on  the  bosom  of  the  deep 

The  smile  of  heaven  lay. 

— SHELLEY. 

IN  a  thousand  artless  ways,  Cora,  despite  the 
strange  mystery  which  seemed  to  envelop  her,  won 
her  way  to  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  her.  Goody 
Nurse,  who  was  a  frequent  caller  at  the  home  of 
the  widow  Stevens,  was  loud  in  her  praises  of  the 
maiden,  who  had  budded  into  womanhood.  Charles 
found  her  growing  more  shy,  as  she  became  more 
mature  and  more  beautiful;  but  as  she  grew  more 
reserved,  her  power  over  him  became  greater,  until, 
though  unconscious  of  it,  she  had  made  him  her 
slave. 

One  day  he  met  her  in  one  of  her  short  rambles 
about  the  wood  near  the  house.  Her  eyes  were  on 
152 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  153 

the  ground,  and  her  face  was  so  sad  that  it  seemed 
to  touch  his  heart.  He  went  toward  her,  and  she 
started  from  her  painful  reverie  and  looked  as  if 
she  would  fly. 

"Cora,  it  is  I,  are  you  afraid  of  me?"  he  asked. 

"No." 

Then  he  went  to  her  side  and  asked: 

"Why  are  you  so  sad  to-day?" 

"Do  I  seem  sad?" 

"You  look  it." 

"It  is  because  of  the  good  pastor's  hatred  of  me. 
You  were  not  at  Church  last  Lord's  day?" 

"No;  I  was  in  Boston." 

"  Hath  not  your  mother  told  you  of  it?" 

"She  told  me  nothing." 

Her  sad  eyes  seemed  to  swim  in  tears,  and 
Charles  entreated  her  to  tell  him  what  Mr.  Parris 
had  said  of  her.  Without  answering  his  question, 
she  asked: 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Goody  Nurse  and  her 
sisters,  Goody  Cloyse  and  Goody  Easty?" 

"They  are  very  excellent  women,"  Charles  an 
swered,  "  I  would  that  we  had  more  like  them." 

"Is  it  wrong  for  a  young  maid  such  as  I  to  keep 
their  company?" 

"Assuredly  not." 

Charles  saw  that  Cora  had  something  to  tell, 
and  he  begged  her  to  come  to  a  large  moss-covered 


154  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

log,  on  which  they  seated  themselves,  and  then  he 
asked: 

"Cora,  who  said  it  was  wrong?" 

"Mr.  Parris." 

"When?" 

"On  last  Lord's  day  he  did  upbraid  us  as  the 
emissaries  of  the  Devil,  and  Goody  Nurse  avowed 
if  the  minister  did  not  cease  to  upbraid  her  in 
church,  she  would  absent  herself." 

"That  would  be  a  violation  of  law.  All  are 
compelled  to  attend  worship  on  Lord's  day." 

She  was  silent  for  several  moments  and  then  re 
marked  : 

"Can  a  law  compel  one  to  go  where  she  is 
maligned  and  all  the  calumnies  hate  can  invent 
heaped  upon  her  head?" 

"By  the  laws  of  the  colony,  all  must  attend 
church  on  Lord's  day." 

The  laws  of  the  Puritans  were  exacting,  and 
ministers  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Parris  took  ad 
vantage  of  them. 

"It  is  sad,  "sighed  Cora. 

"What  did  Mr.  Parris  say  of  you  on  last  Lord's 
day,  Cora?" 

"I  cannot  recall  all  that  he  said.  Even  his  text 
I  have  forgotten,  for,  as  he  was  announcing  it, 
Abigail  Williams  was  seized  with  a  grievous  fit, 
and  did  cry  out  that  Goody  Nurse  was  pinching 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  155 

her.  When  she  became  quiet,  and  the  pastor 
again  announced  his  text,  Abigail  interrupted  him 
with:  'It  is  not  a  doctrinal  text,  and  it  is  too 
long.'  He  said  that  when  the  children  of  God 
went  to  worship,  Satan  came  also.  Then  he  de 
clared  that  the  Devil  was  in  the  church  at  that  mo 
ment,  and  he  looked  at  Goody  Nurse  and  me,  who 
sat  near  each  other  in  the  church.  'Do  any  of 
you  doubt  that  the  imps  of  darkness  are  in  your 
presence?  Behold  how  they  associate  the  one  with 
the  other.  Those  who  afflict  and  persecute  the 
children  of  the  righteous,  and  the  unholy  offspring 
of  a  player!  '  He  grew  in  a  towering  passion  and 
cried  out  so  against  me,  that  all  eyes  were  turned 
upon  me,  and  I  bowed  my  head.  No  sooner  had 
I  done  so,  than  he  called  on  all  to  witness  how 
Satan  rebuked  dared  not  show  his  face  in  the  house 
of  God.  If  I  but  looked  on  him  to  deny  his 
charges  he  called  it  the  brazen  impudence  of  a 
child  of  darkness.  All  through  his  sermon,  I  sat 
listening  to  reproof  for  what  I  cannot  help,  or  the 
frequent  allusions  to  the  familiar  spirits  of  Goody 
Nurse." 

Tears  quietly  stole  from  the  sad  eyes  and  trickled 
down  the  cheeks  of  the  maiden.  He  sought  to 
console  her  and,  to  change  her  mind  to  a  more 
cheerful  subject,  asked: 

"  Where  is  your  father?" 


156  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"  Alas,  I  know  not,  save  that  he  has  gone  with 
his  brother  Harry  Waters  to  Canada  to  procure 
furs." 

"Cora,   what   strange  mystery  surrounds   your 

life?" 

"I  know  not." 

"Don't  you  remember  aught  of  your  mother?" 
"  No;  I  never  saw  her.     My  earliest  recollections 
are  of  the  theatre,  where  a  nurse  cared  for  me  in 
the  greenroom,  while  my  father  performed  on  the 
stage." 

"  Does  he  never  talk  of  her?" 
"  My  mother?" 
"Yes." 

"He  never  mentions  her  name." 
"Have  you  never  asked  him  about  her?" 
"Yes." 

"What  answer  does  he  make?" 
"He  says  I  may  learn  all  in  due  time." 
To  Charles  Stevens,  it  was  quite  evident  that 
Cora's  father  was  purposely  putting  off  some  im 
portant  revelation.  He  gazed  upon  her  fair  young 
face  and  in  it  could  see  little  or  no  resemblance  to 
her  father.  Then  a  suspicion  entered  his  mind, 
that  she  might  not  after  all  be  the  child  of  George 
Waters.  Though  mysterious,  Cora  tried  to  con 
ceal  nothing;  her  manner  and  conversation  were 
frank  and  open. 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  157 

"  Your  father  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  Sedge- 
more,  was  he  not?" 

"Yes;  he  was  impressed  into  the  army  of  Mon- 
mouth.  My  father  had  no  interest  in  either  army. 
What  were  their  quarrels  to  him?  Part  of  the 
time  he  was  in  the  Netherlands,  and  a  part  of  the 
time  in  France,  Scotland  or  Wales.  I  don't  think 
at  any  time  he  knew  much  of  England's  trouble. 
We  were  roving  all  the  time  and  thought  little  of 
political  questions.  When  he  was  arrested  and 
forced  into  Monmouth's  army,  at  Bridgewater,  he 
asked  whose  army  it  was." 

"And  you  followed  him?" 

"I  followed  at  a  distance  and  from  a  lofty  hill 
watched  the  long,  hard  struggle.  Oh,  such  a  scene 
as  it  was!  Ranks  of  cavalry  and  ranks  of  infantry 
dashing  at  each  other.  Through  the  great  volumes 
of  smoke  and  dust,  I  watched  the  regiment  to 
which  my  father  had  been  attached.  I  saw  it  in 
the  thickest  of  the  fight  and,  kneeling  by  a  stone 
fence,  prayed  God  to  spare  him.  God  answered 
my  prayer,  for  he  was  spared.  When  I  saw  Mon 
mouth's  army  retreating  and  the  ruthless  butchers 
of  the  king  in  pursuit,  I  ran  down  the  lane,  weep 
ing  and  wringing  my  hands,  expecting  to  find  his 
dead  body.  I  was  very  young  then ;  but  the  scene 
has  been  indelibly  stamped  on  rny  memory. 

"As  I  was  running  down  the  hill,  I  met  him, 


168  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

so  covered  with  dust  and  blackened  with  gunpowder, 
that  at  first  I  knew  him  not.  He  knew  rne,  and, 
as  I  swooned  at  his  feet,  he  carried  me  across  a 
field  to  a  road-side  inn,  where  I  recovered,  and  we 
were  about  to  resume  our  flight,  when  the  king's 
soldiers  surrounded  the  house.  One  of  the  officers 
cocked  his  pistol  to  shoot  my  father  and  would  have 
done  so,  had  I  not  clung  to  his  neck  and  presented 
my  body  as  a  shield  between  him  and  the  trooper's 
bullet. 

"'Spare  him  for  the  hangman,'  suggested  an 
other. 

"  He  was  spared,  and  at  the  trial  it  appeared  that 
he  held  no  commission  in  the  rebel's  army,  so  he 
was  condemned  to  ten  years'  penal  servitude  in  the 
colonies,  and  was  sent  to  Virginia,  whither  I  went, 
also.  Of  our  escape,  through  the  kindness  and 
courage  of  your  relative  in  Virginia,  you  already 
know." 

"Is  your  father  going  to  take  you  away?" 

"Yes;  he  says  that  my  persecution  at  Salem 
will  cease  as  soon  as  he  can  prepare  a  home  for  me." 

"Where?" 

"In  Maine." 

"Do  you  want  to  go  away,  Cora?" 

She  was  silent  for  a  long  while,  in  fact,  so  long 
was  she  silent  that  he  asked  the  question  again  be 
fore  she  answered.  Then,  fixing  her  beautiful 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  159 

eyes,  with  a  startled  expression,  on  him,  she  an 
swered  : 

"  No,  no!  I  would  not  go  away,  if  I  could  remain 
in  peace;  but  our  persecutions  seem  endless.  My 
father  is  a  good  man.  Although  he  was  a  player, 
he  was  ever  the  kindest  of  fathers,  and  taught  me 
only  the  purest  religious  sentiments,  yet  Mr.  Parris 
calls  him  the  agent  of  the  devil." 

Charles  shudderingly  responded: 

"  Cora,  I  fear  we  are  on  the  verge  of  a  fearful 
upheaval  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  Keligion, 
our  greatest  blessing,  perverted,  will  become  our 
greatest  curse.  I  cannot  understand  it,  Cora;  but 
we  are  on  the  brink  of  some  terrible  volcano,  which 
will  destroy  many,  I  fear." 

That  Charles  Stevens  was  no  false  prophet,  sub 
sequent  history  has  fully  proven.  Coming  events 
seemed  to  cast  their  dark  shadows  before.  In  New 
England,  there  had  been  a  preparation  for  this 
stage  in  the  temper  with  which  the  adventurers  had 
arrived  in  the  country,  and  the  influences  which  at 
once  operated  upon  them.  Their  politics  and  re 
ligion  were  gloomy  and  severe.  Those  who  were 
not  soured  with  the  world  were  sad,  and,  it  should 
be  remembered,  they  fully  believed  that  Satan  and 
his  powers  were  abroad  and  must  be  contended 
with  daily  and  hourly  and  in  every  transaction  of 
life.  There  was  little  in  their  new  home  to  cheer 


100  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

them ;  for  the  gloomy  and  unexplored  forests 
shrouded  the  entire  land  beyond  the  barren  sea 
shore.  Their  special  enemy,  the  Indian,  always 
on  the  alert  in  some  mysterious  glade  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  them,  was  not,  in  their  view,  a  simple 
savage.  Their  clergy,  ignorant  and  fanatic  as  they 
were  zealous,  assured  them  that  the  Indians  were 
worshippers  and  agents  of  Satan;  and  it  is  difficult 
to  estimate  the  effect  of  this  belief  on  the  minds 
and  tempers  of  those  who  were  thinking  of  the 
Indians  at  every  turn  of  daily  life.  Indian  hatred 
has  ever  been  mingled  with  ferocity  and  fanaticism 
quite  inconsistent  with  mild  precepts  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  passion,  kindled  by  the  first  demon 
stration  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Massachusetts 
red  man,  grew  and  spread  incessantly  under  the 
painful  early  experience  of  colonial  life,  and  has 
been  only  intensified  by  time.  In  turn,  every 
man  had  to  be  scout  by  day  and  night,  in  the  swamp 
and  in  the  forest,  and  every  woman  had  to  be  on 
the  watch  in  her  husband's  absence  to  save  her 
babes  from  murderers  and  kidnappers.  Whatever 
else  their  desires  might  be,  even  to  supply  their 
commonest  needs,  the  citizens  had  first  to  station 
themselves  within  hail  of  each  other  all  day,  and 
at  night  to  drive  in  their  cattle  among  the  dwell 
ings  and  keep  watch  by  turns.  Even  on  Sundays, 
patrols  were  appointed  to  look  to  the  public  safety 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  161 

while  the  citizens  were  at  church.  Mothers  carried 
their  babes  to  the  meeting-house  in  preference  to 
remaining  at  home  in  the  absence  of  husbands  and 
neighbors.  The  Sabbath  patrol  was  not  only  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  for  Indians,  but  to  mark 
the  absentees  from  worship,  note  what  they  were 
doing,  and  give  information  accordingly  to  the 
authorities.  These  patrols  were  chosen  from  the 
leading  men  of  the  community — the  most  active, 
vigilant  and  sensible — and  one  can  easily  perceive 
that  much  ill-will  might  have  accumulated  in  the 
hearts  of  those  whom  they  saw  fit  to  report.  Such 
ill-will  had  its  day  of  triumph  when  the  Salem 
tragedy  reached  its  climax. 

Levity,  mirth  and  joy  were  condemned  by  the 
Puritans,  and  nearly  all  amusements  were  dis 
carded.  The  merry  whistle  of  the  lad  was  ungodly 
in  their  eyes,  and  Charles  Stevens  had  come  in  for 
his  share  of  the  reproof  because  God  had  given 
him  a  light  heart.  Life  to  them  was  sombre,  and, 
usually,  sombre  lives  lead  to  bloodshed,  crime  and 
fanaticism. 

Charles  sought  to  instil  some  of  his  joy  into  the 
sad  life  of  the  unfortunate  maid.  To  him  the  sun 
shone  brightly,  the  flowers  bloomed  radiantly,  and 
the  birds  sang  sweetly  for  the  pleasure  of  man. 
Life  was  earnest,  but  not  austere,  and  religion  did 
not  demand  gloom. 
11 


162  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Have  no  care  for  what  Mr.  Parris  may  say," 
he  said.  "His  congregation  is  divided  against 
him,  and  he  cannot  harm  you." 

"Only  a  little  longer,  just  a  little  longer,  and  I 
will  be  gone  where  they  can  torment  me  no  more," 
answered  Cora.  "  In  the  forests  of  Maine,  I  will 
be  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  my  enemies  and  be 
alone  with  God." 

They  rose  and  wandered  down  the  path  on  either 
side  of  which  the  densest  of  thickets  grew.  Both 
were  lost  in  thought.  A  shadow  had  come  over 
the  face  of  Charles  Stevens  the  moment  Cora  spoke 
of  going  away.  He  had  never  admitted  even  to 
himself  that  he  loved  her;  yet,  ever  since  that 
stormy  night  when  he  volunteered  to  brave  the 
tempest  and  conducted  her  home,  he  had  been 
strangely  impressed  with  Cora. 

The  mystery  of  her  early  life  was  somewhat  re 
pugnant  to  one  of  his  plain,  outspoken  nature;  yet, 
with  all  that,  he  was  forcibly  impressed  by  her 
sweet,  pure  and  sad  disposition. 

They  were  wandering  pensively  hand  in  hand 
toward  his  mother's  home,  when  a  voice  called  to 
them  from  across  the  brook  The  sound  of  the 
voice  broke  the  spell,  and,  looking  up,  he  saw 
Sarah  Williams  coming  toward  them. 

"Hold,  will  you,  Charles  Stevens,  until  I  speak 
to  the  one  who  accompanies  you." 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  168 

The  young  widow  was  greatly  excited,  and  her 
voice  trembled  with  emotion. 

"Who  is  that  woman?"  asked  Cora,  trembling 
with  agitation. 

"Sarah  Williams." 

"I  have  seen  her." 

"Where?" 

"  At  church.  She  was  the  one  who  upbraided 
Goody  Nurse  for  being  a  witch." 

Cora  was  greatly  agitated,  as  she  saw  Sarah 
Williams,  with  demoniacal  fury,  hastening  toward 
her.  Surely  she  would  do  her  no  injury,  for 
Cora  was  not  conscious  of  ever  having  given  her 
offence. 

"Have  no  fears,  Cora,  she  will  not  harm  you. 
I  trow  it  is  some  commonplace  matter  of  which  she 
would  speak." 

Thus  assured,  she  had  almost  ceased  to  dread 
the  approach  of  the  woman,  when  Sarah  Williams 
suddenly  cried,  in  a  voice  trembling  with  fury: 

"Cora  Waters,  have  you  no  sense  of  shame? 
Are  you  wholly  given  up  to  the  evil  one?" 

"What  mean  you?"  Cora  asked. 

"Why  do  you  torment  me?" 

"I  do  not,  knowingly." 

"  False  tool  of  Satan!  Did  not  your  shape  come 
at  me  last  night?" 

"Assuredly  not." 


164  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Oh  woman,  woman!  why  will  you  speak  so 
falsely?  I  saw  you." 

"When?" 

"  Last  night,  as  I  lay  in  my  bed,  you  came  and 
choked  me,  because  I  would  not  sign  the  little  red 
book  which  you  carried  in  your  hand." 

Filled  with  wonder,  Charles  Stevens  turned  his 
eyes  upon  Cora,  whose  face  expressed  blank  amaze 
ment,  and  asked: 

"What  does  this  mean?" 

"  I  take  God  to  be  my  witness,  that  I  know  noth 
ing  of  it,  no  more  than  the  child  unborn,"  she  an 
swered. 

"Woe  is  the  evil  one,  who  speaks  falsely  when 
accused!"  cried  the  enraged  Sarah  Williams.  Then 
she  closed  her  fist  and  made  an  effort  to  strike  Cora, 
who,  with  a  scream,  shrunk  from  her. 

"Hold,  Sarah  Williams!  Don't  judge  hastily, 
or  you  may  judge  wrongly." 

"Go  to!  hold  your  peace,  Charles  Stevens,  for, 
verily,  I  know  whereof  I  speak,  when  I  charge 
that  the  shape  of  Cora  Waters  does  grievously  tor 
ment  me." 

"Are  you  mad?" 

"No." 

"Then  of  what  do  you  accuse  her?" 

"She  is  a  witch." 

At  this  awful  accusation  both  Charles  and  Cora 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  165 

shrunk  back  in  dismay,  and  for  a  moment  neither 
could  speak ;  but  Sarah  Williams  was  not  silent. 
She  continued  upbraiding  the  unfortunate  girl, 
heaping  charge  upon  charge  on  her  innocent  head, 
until  Cora  felt  as  if  she  needs  must  sink  beneath 
the  load. 

"You  have  bewitched  my  cows;  my  sheep  and 
swine  die  mysteriously.  Your  form  is  seen  oft  at 
night  riding  through  the  air.  My  poultry  die 
strangely  and  mysteriously,  and  my  dog  has  fits. 
Even  my  poor  cat  hath  fallen  under  the  evil  spell 
which  you  cast  on  all  about  me.  Alas,  Cora 
Waters,  you  are  bold  and  bad.  Charles  Stevens, 
beware  how  you  are  seen  about  her,  lest  the  wrath 
that  will  fall  upon  her  head  involve  you  in  ruin." 

Cora  Waters,  leaning  against  a  tree,  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands  and  murmured: 

"Oh,  God!  wilt  thou  save  me  from  the  wrath  of 
these  misguided  people?" 

"See  how  she  blasphemes!  For  a  witch  to  call 
on  the  name  of  God  is  blasphemy  of  the  very  worst 
kind.  Away,  witch !"  and  Sarah  stamped  her  foot 
in  violence  upon  the  ground. 

"Stay,  Cora!"  Charles  interposed,  very  calmly. 
Then  he  turned  upon  Sarah  Williams,  and  added: 

"You  accuse  her  falsely,  Sarah.  Beware  how 
you  charge  her  of  what  the  law  makes  a  crime,  or 
you  may  have  to  answer  in  a  court  for  slander." 


166  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"  Charles  Stevens,  beware  how  you  defend  the 
being  at  your  side.  She  is  an  imp  of  darkness, 
and  a  day  is  coming  when  such  will  not  be  per 
mitted  to  run  at  large.  Beware!  beware!  BE 
WARE!"  and  with  the  last  command  amounting  al 
most  to  a  shriek,  she  turned  about  and  ran  away. 

Long  Charles  Stevens  stood  gazing  after  the  re 
treating  woman.  The  gentle  breeze,  stirring  the 
leaves  of  the  sweet-scented  forest,  bore  pleasant 
odors  to  them,  the  birds  sang  their  sweet  peaceful 
songs,  while  a  squirrel,  with  a  nut  in  its  paws, 
skipped  nimbly  over  the  leaves  near  and,  pausing, 
reared  upon  its  hind  legs  and  looked  at  them  from 
its  bright  little  eyes,  while  the  flowers  nodded  their 
gaudy  little  heads  as  if  to  invite  every  one  to  be 
glad ;  but  Charles  and  Cora  saw  not  all  these  beauties 
of  nature.  She  stood  leaning  against  the  friendly 
trunk  of  a  giant  oak,  and  turned  her  eyes  on  him 
with  a  look  of  helpless  appeal  and  agony.  He  was 
so  dazed  by  the  bold  accusation,  that  he  could  not 
speak  for  several  seconds.  She  was  first  to  regain 
her  speech. 

"She,  too,  is  my  enemy." 

"Yes,"  he  answered. 

"I  have  no  friend "  she  began. 

"Don't  say  that,  Cora.  While  mother  and  I 
live,  you  have  two  friends,"  he  interrupted. 

"Yes — yes;  I  had  not  forgotten  you ;  but  you 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  167 

may  be  powerless  to  aid  me.  I  learned  that  they 
were  going  to  arrest  and  try  some  of  the  accused 
people  for  witches.  It  is  terrible,"  she  added  with 
a  shudder.  "  In  England  they  burn  witches  at  the 
stake.  My  father  saw  one  thus  roasted.  He  said  it 
did  touch  him  with  tenderness  to  see  the  gallant  way 
she  met  her  fate — cursing  and  reviling  the  hooting 
mob  gathered  about  her,  whilst  the  angry  flames, 
leaping  upward,  licked  her  face,  caught  her  locks, 
crackling  about  her  old  gray  head.  I  trow  it  was 
a  sorry  sight,  and  God  be  praised,  I  never  saw  such 
a  one!" 

"  You  never  will,  Cora,  for  those  days  are  passed. 
We  live  in  a  more  enlightened  and  humane  age. 
People  are  not  burned  to  death  now,  as  they  used 
to  be.  We  are  safe  under  the  shelter  of  humane 
and  wise  laws." 

Charles  was  mistaken.  Human  laws  have  never 
been  perfect  or  just,  and  mankind  will  never  be  safe 
while  laws  are  interpreted  by  partial  magistrates. 
Laws  are  never  perfect,  for,  were  they,  continual 
amendments  would  be  unnecessary. 

On  their  way  home,  Charles  and  Cora  were  com 
pelled  to  pass  the  Salem  church.  As  they  did  so, 
they  met  Mr.  Parris  face  to  face,  as  he  was  coming 
out  of  the  sanctuary  whither  he  had  gone  to  pray. 
He  paused  near  the  door  and,  fixing  his  large  gray 
eyes  on  the  unfortunate  maid,  glared  at  her  much 


168  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

as  an  angry  lion  might  gaze  on  the  object  of  its 
hatred;  then  he  turned  away  on  his  heel  with  some 
thing  about  the  children  of  darkness  profaning  the 
house  of  the  Lord. 

Cora  shuddered  as  long  as  he  was  in  sight,  and 
when  he  had  disappeared,  she  said: 

"Surely,  he  is  a  bad  man!" 

They  resumed  their  walk  to  the  house.  Though 
neither  spoke,  they  went  slowly,  each  buried  in 
thought.  The  gentle  zephyrs,  the  frisking  squirrels, 
the  nodding  flowers,  the  singing  birds,  were  all  un 
heeded  by  them.  When  the  home  was  reached,  he 
found  his  mother  standing  in  the  door,  her  face  al 
most  deathly  white. 

Though  she  said  nothing,  he  knew  she  was 
greatly  disturbed.  Her  wheel  stood  idle,  the  great 
heap  of  wool  rolls  lying  unspun  at  the  side  of  it. 
She  smiled  faintly  and,  as  Cora  passed  into  the  little 
room  set  apart  for  her,  turned  her  eyes  anxiously  to 
her  son. 

"Mother,  has  any  one  been  here  since  we  left?" 
he  asked. 

"Yes." 

"Was  it  Mr.  Parris?" 

"It  was." 

"We  saw  him  come  out  of  the  church  as  we 
passed." 

"He  was  here  but  a  moment  since." 


CHARLES  AND   CORA.  169 

Then  Charles  felt  that  something  had  been  said 
to  his  mother  to  occasion  alarm,  and  he  asked  her 
what  it  was. 

"  He  advised  me  to  warn  you  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come.  He  said  you  would  be  involved  in 
ruin  ere  you  knew  it,  if  you  continued  in  your 
present  course." 

"What  did  he  mean?" 

"He  referred  to  her,"  and  Mrs.  Stevens  signifi 
cantly  nodded  toward  the  apartment  in  which  Cora 
was.  Charles  had  expected  this  answer.  He  went 
slowly  to  the  door  and  looked  down  the  road  to 
see  if  the  pastor  was  still  in  sight;  but  he  was 
not.  Only  the  broad,  well-beaten  thoroughfare, 
with  the  great,  old  trees  standing  on  either  side, 
and  the  blue  sea  beyond  the  hill,  with  the  village 
in  the  valley  were  visible.  The  youth's  heart  was 
full  of  bitterness,  and  the  manner  in  which  his 
mother's  words  were  spoken  was  not  calculated  to 
allay  the  storm  within  his  breast.  Though  her 
words  did  not  say  so,  her  manner  indicated  that 
she  shared  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Parris.  Turning 
from  the  door,  Charles  went  toward  her  and  said: 

"Mother,  whatever  he  said  of  her  is  false.  I 
know  he  hates  Cora,  that  he  would  make  her  one 
of  the  emissaries  of  Satan ;  but  his  charges  are  false. 
You  know — you  must  know  that  she  is  a  pure, 
good  girl." 


170  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"I  do  know  it,"  she  answered,  her  face  still 
anxious  and  pale.  "  The  accusation  is  false.  I 
know  it  is  false;  yet  he  threatens." 

"Whom  does  he  threaten?" 

"You." 

Charles  laughed,  as  only  a  brave  lad  can  laugh 
at  danger.  Why  need  he  fear  Mr.  Parris?  Charles 
was  young  and  inexperienced.  He  knew  not  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  and  little  did  he  dream  of 
the  power  which  Mr.  Parris,  as  pastor  of  the  church, 
could  wield  over  the  public.  The  pulpit  controlled 
judges  and  juries,  law-makers  and  governors  in  that 
day,  and  when  an  evil-disposed  person  like  Mr. 
Parris  became  pastor  of  a  congregation,  he  could 
wield  a  terrible  influence. 

"  Mother,  how  can  he  injure  me?"  Charles  asked. 

"In  more  ways  than  one." 

"What  are  they?" 

"  I  don't  know,  Charles;  but  I  know — I  feel  that 
something  terrible  is  about  to  happen.  Our  people 
will  suffer  from  Mr.  Parris — especially  all  who  op 
pose  his  ministry." 

"  I  oppose  his  ministry,  and  I  have  no  fear  of 
him.  All  he  can  do  is  to  wound  the  feelings  of 
that  poor  girl;  but  she  will  go  away  soon,  beyond 
reach  of  his  calumny." 

"Heaven  grant  she -may,  and  right  soon,  too." 
As  Charles  was  about  to  leave  the  house,  his 


CHARLES  AND  CORA.  171 

mother  asked:  "Have  you  heard  that  Adelpha 
Leisler  from  New  York  is  coming?" 

"Adelpha  Lei sler!  No "  He  started,  half 

in  joy  and  half  in  regret. 

"She  is.     Surely,  you  have  not  forgotten  her." 

"No,  mother.  1  will  never  forget  the  pretty 
maid." 

"Who,  you  said  in  your  boyhood,  was  one  day 
to  be  your  wife." 

"  Truly,  I  did.  I  have  heard  that  Adelpha  hath 
kept  the  promise  of  early  childhood  to  make  a 
beautiful  woman.  When  will  she  come?" 

"It  is  said  she  will  be  here  before  next  Lord's 
Day." 

The  expression  of  joy  uttered  in  words,  as  well 
as  the  glow  which  lighted  up  his  countenance,  was 
seen  by  the  white-faced  young  woman  in  the  next 
apartment.  Cora  was  not  an  intentional  eaves 
dropper.  Her  door  had  been  left  accidentally  ajar, 
and  when  she  heard  the  name  Adelpha  Leisler 
spoken,  she  started  to  her  feet,  moved  by  a  strange 
impulse  quite  inexplicable  to  her.  She  had  never 
heard  the  name  Adelpha  Leisler  before,  and  yet  she 
intuitively  felt  that  the  name  had  some  terrible 
bearing  on  her  destiny.  With  loud  beating  heart, 
lips  parted  and  her  whole  being  expressing  pain, 
she  crouched  close  to  the  door  and  listened. 


CHAPTER    X. 

CHARLES  AND   MR.    PARRIS. 

Night  is  the  time  for  rest, 

How  sweet  when  labors  close, 
To  gather  round  an  aching  breast 

The  curtain  of  repose, 
Stretch  the  tired  limbs,  and  lay  the  head 
Upon  our  own  delightful  bed. 

— MONTGOMERY. 

JEALOUSY,  for  the  first  time,  entered  the  heart 
of  Cora  Waters.  Blessed  is  the  being  free  from 
this  curse.  The  green-eyed  monster,  unbidden, 
enters  the  heart  and  enthrones  himself  as  ruler  of 
the  happiness  of  the  individual  over  whom  it  as 
sumes  sway.  She  heard  all  that  mother  and  son 
said,  and  then  watched  him  as  he  went  out.  Then 
she  closed  the  door  of  her  apartment  and  retired  to 
her  bedroom. 

It  was  almost  evening,  and  when  Mrs.  Stevens 
informed  her  that  tea  was  ready,  she  feigned  head 
ache  and  asked  to  be  excused.  It  was  the  heart 
rather  than  the  head  that  ached. 

Charles  Stevens  was  gathering  in  the  herds  as 
172 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS.  173 

was  the  custom  for  the  night,  when  he  came  rather 
suddenly  upon  John  Louder,  returning  from  the 
forest. 

"  Ho,  Charles  Stevens,  where  were  you  last  Lord's 
Day?"  asked  Louder. 

"Was  I  missed?" 

"You  were,  and  I  trow  the  patrol  could  not  find 
you." 

"I  was  in  Boston." 

"Do  you  know  that  Mr.  Parris  hath  begun  to  cry 
out  against  some  of  the  people?" 

"I  have  heard  as  much,  and  I  think  the  pastor 
should  be  more  careful,  lest  he  will  do  an  in 
justice." 

Louder  shook  his  head  and,  seating  himself  on 
the  green  bank  of  a  brooklet,  answered : 

"  Goody  Nurse  is  a  witch.  She  hath  grievously 
tormented  me  on  divers  occasions  and  in  divers 
ways.  Fain  would  I  believe  her  other  but  I  can 
not." 

"John  Louder,  you  are  a  deceived  and  deluded 
man." 

"Nay,  nay,  Charles,  you  mock  me.  I  have 
had  her  come  and  sit  upon  my  chest  and  oppress 
me  greatly  with  her  torments.  Have  I  not  been 
turned  into  a  beast  and  ridden  through  thorns  and 
briars  at  night  and  awoke  to  find  myself  in  bed?" 

Charles,  laughing,  answered: 


174  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"It  was  the  troubled  dream  from  which  you 
awoke." 

"Nay;  I  found  the  thorns  and  briars  pricking 
my  hands  and  legs." 

"Perchance  you  walked  in  your  sleep." 

"  Charles,  why  seek  to  deceive  me  in  that  way, 
when  I  know  full  well  that  what  I  tell  you  is-eurely 
truth?  I  see  with  my  eyes,  I  hear  with  my  ears, 
and  I  feel  with  my  senses.  Only  night  before  last, 
I  was  ridden  into  a  field  where  they  partook  of  a 
witches'  sacrament." 

"And  what  was  it,  pray?"  asked  Charles  with  a 
smile  of  incredulity. 

"The  flesh  and  blood  of  a  murdered  victim." 

Charles  laughed  outright. 

"Nay,  nay,  Charles,  you  need  not  laugh, "cried 
Louder,  angrily.  "She  was  there,  too." 

"Who?" 

"The  maid  who  hath  lived  at  your  house.  The 
offspring  of  a  vile  player.  Behold,  I  saw  her  par 
take  of  the  sacrament." 

Charles  Stevens'  face  alternately  paled  and 
flushed  as  he  answered : 

"John  Louder,  you  are  the  prince  of  liars,  and 
beware  how  you  repeat  your  falsehoods,  or  I  shall 
crack  your  skull." 

Louder,  who  was  a  coward,  as  well  as  super 
stitious,  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  the  stout  youth. 


CHARLES  AND  MR.   P ARRIS.  175 

He  sprung  back  a  few  paces  ,and. stammered: 

"  No,  no,  I  don't  mean  any  harm.  I — I  am  not 
saying  anything  against  you." 

"John  Louder,  you.  are  a  notorious  liar,  and  I 
warn  you  to  be  careful  in  the  future  how  your  vile 
tongue  breathes  calumny  against  innocent  people. 
Begone!" 

Louder  slowly  rose  and  slunk  away,  and  Charles 
Stevens  returned  home.  The  evening  air  fanned 
his  heated  brow,  and  he  sought  to  cool  his  angry 
temper  before  he  reached  home.  The  silent  stars 
watched  the  sullen  youth  who,  pausing  at  the  gate, 
gazed  in  his  helpless  misery  on  the  broad-faced 
moon  and  murmured: 

"How  will  all  this  end?" 

It  was  his  usual  bedtime  when  Charles  Stevens 
entered  the  house,  and  his  face  was  calm  as  a 
summer  sky  over  which  a  storm  had  never  swept. 
His  mother  was  still  plying  her  wheel,  and  the 
heap  of  wool  rolls  had  grown  less  and  continued  to 
diminish.  She  asked  her  son  no  questions.  He 
sat  down  near  the  table,  took  up  a  book  of  psalms 
and  proceeded  to  read. 

There  was  one  in  the  next  apartment  who  heard 
him  enter.  It  was  Cora,  and,  rising,  she  crouched 
near  the  door  to  listen.  Perhaps  they  would  say 
something  more  of  Adelpha  Leisler;  but  he  did  not 
mention  her  name  again,  and  she  almost  hoped  he 


170  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

cared  nothing  for  her  now,  although  he  had  con 
fessed  that  in  his  boyhood  he  had  looked  upon  her 
as  his  future  wife.  Almost  every  man  selects  his 
wife  in  his  early  boyhood;  but  the  child  lover  sel 
dom  becomes  the  husband.  The  love  of  a  play 
mate,  tender  as  it  may  be,  is  not  the  love  of  maturity. 
Cora  strove  to  console  herself  with  these  thoughts; 
but  there  was  another  danger  that  would  obtrude 
itself  in  her  way.  That  was  the  knowledge  that 
he  had  not  seen  Adelpha  for  years,  and  she  had 
developed  from  a  child  to  a  beautiful  woman. 
Long  she  sat  near  the  door,  feeling  decidedly  guilty 
at  playing  the  part  of  an  eavesdropper;  but  when 
Charles  rose,  closed  his  book  and  went  to  his  room, 
and  the  mother  put  away  her  work,  Cora  rose  and 
went  to  her  bed.  Despite  her  sorrow  and  mental 
worry,  she  had  sweet  dreams.  Somebody,  who 
was  Charles,  appeared  to  her  in  light,  and  she  rose 
with  the  sun  in  her  eyes,  which  at  first  produced 
the  effect  of  a  continuation  of  her  dream.  Her 
first  thought  on  coming  out  of  the  dream  was  of  a 
smiling  nature,  and  she  felt  quite  reassured.  The 
dream  had  been  so  pleasant  and  sweet;  life  seemed 
so  peaceful  and  full  of  hope;  nature  smiled  so 
brightly  on  this  holy  morn,  that  she  almost  forgot 
the  hot  words  of  the  pastor  and  her  jealousy  of  the 
night  before.  She  began  hoping  with  all  her 
strength,  without  knowing  why,  and  suffered  from 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS.  177 

a  contraction  of  the  heart.  It  was  a  bright  day; 
but  the  sunbeam  was  still  nearly  horizontal,  so  she 
reasoned  that  it  was  quite  early;  but  she  thought 
she  ought  to  rise  in  order  to  assist  Charles'  mother 
in  her  household  duties.  She  would  see  Charles 
himself,  feel  the  warmth  of  his  glance  and  hear  the 
music  of  his  voice.  No  objection  was  admissible; 
all  was  certain.  It  was  monstrous  enough  to  have 
suffered  the  pangs  of  jealousy  on  the  night  before; 
but  now  that  the  bright  dreams  and  glorious  dawn 
had  dispelled  these,  she  felt  sure  that  good  news 
had  come  at  last.  Youth  is  so  constituted,  that  it 
quickly  wipes  its  tears  away,  for  it  is  natural  for 
youth  to  be  happy,  while  its  breath  is  made  up  of 
hope. 

Cora  could  not  have  recalled  a  single  instance  in 
which  Charles  Stevens  had  uttered  a  word  of  hope  or 
encouragement  to  her.  Her  thoughts  seemed  to 
play  at  hide  and  seek  in  her  brain,  and  she  was  so 
strangely,  peculiarly  happy  this  morning,  that  she 
preferred  to  enjoy  the  revels  of  day-dreams  to  the 
realities  of  life.  Leaving  her  bed,  she  bathed  her 
face  and  said  her  prayers. 

Voices  were  heard  without,  and  she  listened. 
One  was  the  well  beloved  voice  of  Charles  Stevens. 
He  was  speaking  with  some  one,  whom  she  rightly 
guessed  had  just  arrived.  The  voice  of  the  new 
comer  was  too  far  distant  for  her  to  recognize  it  at 
12 


178  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

first:  but  her  eye,  glancing  through  the  lattice,  de 
scried  the  form  of  a  man  coming  toward  the  house. 
That  tall  form,  with  thin,  cadaverous  features 
and  stern,  unbending  eye,  was  the  man  who  had 
publicly  condemned  her  and  held  her  up  to  the 
scorn  of  the  whole  congregation,  because  she  was 
the  child  of  a  player.  Cora  did  not  hate  him,  for 
she  was  too  pure,  too  good,  too  heavenly  to  hate 
even  the  man  who  had  declared  her  to  be  a  fire 
brand  of  perdition.  What  was  his  object  this 
lovely  morn?  His  appearance  dispelled  all  the  rosy 
dreams  and  once  more  plunged  her  into  that  hor 
rible,  oppressive  gloom,  which  seemed  heavier  than 
lead  upon  her  heart. 

"  You  are  abroad  early,  this  morning,  Mr.  Par- 
ris,"  Charles  answered  to  the  minister's  morning 
greeting. 

"Not  too  soon,  however,"  the  reverend  gentle 
man  answered.  "  The  devil  does  not  sleep.  He 
is  abroad  continually,  and,  verily,  one  needs  must 
rise  early  to  be  before  him  and  his  minions." 

"Where  are  you  going,  Mr.  Parris?"  asked  the 
youth. 

"I  am  coming  here." 

"Your  call  is  early." 

"Not  earlier  than  Satan's.  I  trow  he  is  here 
even  already  and  hath  abided  with  you,  before  I 
came." 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS.  179 

Charles  made  no  answer  to  this,  for  there  is  no 
wrath  like  the  wrath  of  an  angry  preacher,  whose 
zeal  warps  his  judgment  and  makes  a  fanatic  of 
him.  Bigoted,  tyrannical,  haughty  and  cruel, 
Parris  swooped  down  on  his  enemies  with  the  fury 
of  an  eagle. 

Charles  Stevens  was  a  little  amazed  at  the  manner 
of  the  minister  and  asked : 

"Is  your  business  with  me?" 

"It  is." 

"What  is  it?" 

"  It  seems  best  that  we  converse  where  there  is  no 
danger  of  being  overheard,  Charles,  as  what  I  have 
to  say  is  of  a  very  grave  and  serious  nature  and 
concerns  your  soul's  welfare." 

When  a  bigoted,  ambitious  zealot  becomes  in 
terested  in  the  welfare  of  a  person,  that  person  is 
in  danger. 

The  anxious  girl,  whose  face  was  pressed  close 
to  the  window  lattice  watching  the  men,  heard  all 
and  turned  so  pale,  that  even  the  warm  rays  of  the 
sun  failed  to  give  the  tint  and  glow  of  life  to  the 
cheek.  She  saw  them  walk  away  down  the  path 
and  go  across  .the  brook  among  the  trees  and  over 
the  distant  hill. 

To  Charles,  it  was  like  making  a  pilgrimage  to 
some  place  of  evil,  the  end  of  which  he  dreaded. 
Across  the  hill,  hidden  from  the  town  by  trees  and 


180  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

intervening  slope,  they  paused  near  the  corner  of  a 
stone  fence,  and  Mr.  Parris  leaned  against  the  wall 
and  gazed  on  Charles  in  silence. 

"What  have  you  to  say,  Mr.  Parris?"  the  young 
man  asked,  as  the  cold,  gray  eye,  like  a  gleam  of 
steel  fell  upon  him.  Mr.  Parris,  in  slow  and 
measured  tones,  answered: 

"  No  man  knows  until  the  time  comes  what  depths 
are  within  him.  To  some  men  it  never  comes. 
Let  them  rest  and  be  thankful.  To  me  it  was 
brought — it  was  forced  upon  me.  I  am  despised, 
misused  and  abused  by  the  world  for  the  fact  that 
I  stand  in  the  hand  of  God  to  do  his  holy  will." 

"You  talk  strangely,  Mr.  Parris,"  said  Charles, 
when  the  wild-eyed  fanatic  had  finished  and  turned 
his  haggard  face  up  toward  heaven.  "I  think 
your  earnestness  and  zeal  are  mistaken." 

"  Yes,  mistaken  by  all ;  but  I  know  the  Lord  or 
dains  me  for  this  good  and  holy  work,  and  I  will 
serve  my  Master,  hard  as  the  task  may  be." 

"Mr.  Parris,  may  we  not  be  mistaken  in  what 
constitutes  the  service  of  the  Master?" 

"Aye!  Is  not  the  way  so  plain  that  a  way 
faring  man,  though  a  fool,  cannot  err  therein?" 

"  Yet,  'they  shall  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues; 
yea,  the  time  cometh  that  whosoever  killeth  you 
will  think  that  he  doeth  God  service.'  The  great 
question  to  decide  is  which  is  right.  'Not  every 


CHARLES  AND  MR.   PARRIS.  181 

one  that  saith  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  king 
dom  of  heaven.'  ' 

"I  am  right!"  cried  Mr.  Parris,  his  face  flaming 
with  passion. 

"  So  Melendez  believed,  when  he  drenched  the 
soil  of  Fort  Carolinia  with  the  blood  of  innocent 
women  and  children." 

"Young  man,  I  am  the  preacher,  not  you.  It 
is  for  me  to  speak  and  you  to  listen.  Satan  has 
been  unchained,  and  the  air  is  full  of  evil  spirits." 

"  Mr.  Parris,  I  have  heard  enough.  Let  me  stop 
you  here.  It  will  be  better  for  you  and  better  for 
me.  Let  me  go  home. " 

"  Not  yet.  The  Lord  commands,  and  it  must 
and  shall  be  spoken.  I  have  been  in  torments  ever 
since  I  stopped  short  of  it  before.  Look  not  amazed 
nor  alarmed  when  I  tell  you  that  the  day  of  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord  is  coming,  and  the  minions  of 
hell  that  torment  this  accursed  land  will  be  gathered 
into  the  fires  of  destruction.  Charles,  forgive  this 
earnestness,  it  is  for  your  sake.  It  is  another  of 
my  miseries.  I  cannot  speak  on  that  subject  nor 
of  that  subject  without  stumbling  at  every  syllable, 
unless  I  let  go  my  check  and  run  mad;"  and  as 
Charles  Stevens  gazed  into  those  wild  eyes  and 
hollow  cheeks,  he  thought  the  man  must  already  be 
mad. 

"Let  us  return    home,  Mr.    Parris.     Take  an- 


182  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

other  day  to  think,  before  you  give  expression  to 
what  you  would  say." 

"No,  no;  you  must  hear  me  now!  Here  is  a 
man  driving  his  cows  forth  to  graze.  He  will  be 
gone  directly.  I  entreat  you  let  us  walk  down  the 
road  and  return,  for  what  I  would  say,  Charles, 
must  be  for  your  ears  alone." 

He  yielded  to  the  entreaty.  How  could  he  do 
otherwise,  for  there  could  be  no  harm  in  walking 
with  the  pastor?  Mr.  Parris,  among  his  other  ac 
complishments,  had  the  power  of  dissembling.  He 
could  assume  a  smiling  exterior  while  a  devil  raged 
in  his  heart.  After  they  had  gone  aside  some  dis 
tance,  and  the  farmer  had  passed  on  with  his  cows, 
they  returned  to  the  old  stone  wall,  and  Charles 
waited,  very  much  as  a  criminal  might,  who  stood 
to  receive  his  sentence. 

"You  know  what  I  am  going  to  say,"  the  pas 
tor  began,  his  austere  face  once  more  assuming  its 
terrible  expression.  "You  don't  like  me,  your 
mother  don't  like  me,  and  the  congregation  is  di 
vided,  doing  all  in  their  power  to  dispossess  me ; 
but  I  am  right.  What  other  men  may  mean  when 
they  use  that  expression,  I  cannot  tell.  What  I 
mean  is  that  I  am  under  the  influence  of  some  tre 
mendous  power,  which  I  know  is  God  Almighty, 
Himself,  and  resist  that  power  I  dare  not.  I  may 
be  called  a  fanatic,  cruel,  mad;  but  the  great  and 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS.  183 

good  God  who  made  me  ordains  me  in  all  things. 
This  power — this  spirit — this  will,  whatever  it  may 
be,  is  the  chief  motive  that  moves  me.  It  oould 
draw  me  to  fire;  it  could  draw  me  to  water;  it 
could  draw  me  to  the  rack,  as  it  did  martyrs  of 
old;  it  could  draw  me  to  any  death — to  anything 
pleasing,  or  repulsive;  but  I  am  mistaken,  misun 
derstood  by  people,  and  the  future  as  well  as  the 
present  generation  may  condemn  me  in  their  nar 
row  views  as  being  dishonest,  as  being  revengeful, 
as  being  even  bloodthirsty;  but,  Charles,  when 
God  did  command  Peter  to  slay,  did  he  refuse? 
No.  If  my  God  commands  me  to  slay,  I  will  do 
it,  though  rivers  of  blood  shall  flow " 

The  face  of  the  wild  fanatic  was  terrible  to  look 
upon.  Charles  Stevens,  bold  as  he  was,  gazing  on 
him  in  the  full  light  of  day,  could  not  repress 
a  shudder.  His  thin,  cadaverous  face,  smooth 
shaven  and  of  an  ashen  hue,  was  upturned  to 
heaven,  and  those  great,  awful  eyes  seemed  gazing 
on  things  unlawful  for  man  to  see.  The  long  right 
arm  was  raised  toward  the  sky,  and  again  that  deep 
voice  called  out: 

"0  thou  great  Jehovah,  do  but  command  me, 
and  rivers  of  blood  shall  flow " 

"Mr.  Parris!"  began  Charles,  alarmed. 

"Stop!  I  implore  you  do  not  interrupt  me, 
Charles.  Wait  until,  by  fasting  and  prayer  and 


184  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

long,  solemn  meditation  on  these  mysterious  sub 
jects,  the  Lord  has  opened  your  eyes  to  the  invisible 
world,  then  you  may  judge.  If  you  become 
weary  with  long  standing,  sit  down,  and  I  will 
pour  into  your  ears  such  proofs  that  you  can  no 
longer  deny  the  existence  of  witchcraft." 

Charles  felt  the  strange  spell  of  the  fanatic's 
presence,  and  he  merely  bowed  his  head  as  a  sig 
nal  for  him  to  proceed.  Mr.  Parris,  in  his  deep 
sepulchral  voice,  continued:  * 

"Mr.  John  Higginson,  that  reverend  and  ex 
cellent  person,  says  that  the  Indians,  which  came 
from  far  to  settle  about  Mexico,  were,  in  their  prog 
ress  to  that  settlement,  under  a  conduct  of  a  Devil, 
very  strangely  emulating  the  blessed  covenant 
which  God  gave  Israel  in  the  wilderness.  Acosta 
says  that  the  Devil,  in  their  idol  Vitzlipultzli,  gov 
erned  that  mighty  nation.  He  commanded  them 
to  leave  their  country,  promising  to  make  them 
lords  over  all  the  provinces  possessed  by  six  other 
nations  of  Indians,  and  give  them  a  land  abounding 
with  all  precious  things.  They  went  forth,  carry 
ing  their  idol  with  them  in  a  coffer  of  reeds,  sup 
ported  by  four  of  their  principal  priests,  with  whom 
he  still  discoursed  in  secret,  revealing  to  them  the 
successes  and  accidents  of  their  way.  He  advised 

*  Like  argument  is  used  by  Cotton  Mather  in  his  "  In 
visible  World. " 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS.  185 

them  when  to  march  and  where  to  stay,  and,  with 
out  his  command,  they  moved  not.  The  tirst  thing 
they  did  wherever  they  came,  was  to  erect  a  taber 
nacle  for  their  false  god,  which  they  always  set  in 
the  midst  of  their  camp,  and  they  placed  the  ark 
upon  an  altar.  When,  wearied  with  the  pains  and 
fatigues  of  travel,  they  talked  of  proceeding  no 
further  in  their  journey  than  a  certain  pleasant  stage, 
whereto  they  were  arrived,  the  Devil,  in  one  night, 
horribly  killed  the  ones  who  had  started  this  talk 
by  pulling  out  their  hearts,  and  so  they  passed  on 
till  they  carne  to  Mexico. 

"The  same  Devil,  which  then  thus  imitated 
what  was  in  the  church  of  the  Old  Testament,  now 
among  us,  would  imitate  the  affairs  of  the  church 
in  the  New.  The  witches  do  say  that  they  form 
themselves  after  the  manner  of  Congregational 
Churches,  and  that  they  have  baptism  and  a  supper 
and  officers  among  them,  abominably  resembling 
those  of  our  Lord.  What  is  their  striking  down 
with  a  fierce  look?  What  is  their  making  of  the 
afflicted  rise  with  a  touch  of  their  hand?  What  is 
their  transportation  through  the  air?  What  is  their 
travelling  in  spirit,  while  their  body  is  cast  into  a 
trance?  What  is  their  causing  cattle  to  run  mad 
and  perish?  What  is  their  entering  their  names  in 
a  book,  their  coming  together  from  all  parts  at  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  their  appearing  sometimes 


186  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

clothed  with  light  and  fire  upon  them,  then  cover 
ing  themselves  and  their  instruments  with  invisi 
bility?  Are  not  all  these  but  a  blasphemous  imita 
tion  of  certain  things  recorded  about  our  Saviour, 
or  his  prophets,  or  the  saints  in  the  kingdom  of 
God?" 

"Mr.  Parris,"said  Charles,  when  the  fanatic  had 
paused  in  his  wild  harangue  for  want  of  breath, 
"you  seem  in  earnest;  but  you  must  bear  in  mind 
that  there  is  a  mistaken  zeal " 

" Hold,  Charles,  I  know  what  you  would  say; 
but  God  has  opened  my  eyes  to  the  abominations 
of  witchcraft." 

"  So  Bishop  Mendoza  thought,  when  he  ordered 
the  innocent  slain.  Beware  of  false  prophets,  Mr. 
Parris.  They  are  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the 
protean  devil  of  which  you  speak.  Be  sure  that 
you  remove  the  beam  from  your  own  eye,  before 
you  try  to  see  the  mote  in  the  eye  of  your  brother." 

The  sallow  face  of  the  fanatic  grew  more  ghastly 
than  before.  His  teeth  gnashed,  and  his  great 
eyes  seemed  starting  in  hatred  from  his  head. 
Seizing  the  wrist  of  Charles  with  his  hand,  he 
clutched  it  so  tightly  as  to  almost  make  him  cry 
out  in  pain. 

"Charles,  Charles,  why  persecutest  thou  me? 
Have  not  the  scales  of  infidelity  fallen  from  your 
eyes?  Would  you  deny  the  power  of  God?" 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS.  187 

Charles  Stevens,  by  an  effort,  freed  his  hand 
and,  with  a  boldness  which  increased  as  he  spoke, 
answered : 

"It  is  not  God  whom  I  deny,  but  man.  God  is 
good  and  just  and  kind.  He  who,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  would  pervert  His  holy  word  is  an  im 
postor  and  blasphemer  more  base  than  a  thief  or  an 
infidel." 

"Charles,  beware!" 

"I  have  listened  patiently  to  you,  Mr.  Parris. 
Now  listen  to  me.  Where  do  you  find  in  Scripture 
justification  for  the  charges  you  lay  at  the  doors 
of  innocent  people  such  as  Goody  Nurse,  Goody 
Easty,  Goody  Cloyse  and  the  poor  little  maid  Cora 
Waters?  What  harm  have  they  ever  done  you, 
that  you,  as  a  Christian  man,  might  not  forgive 
them?" 

"Charles "  interrupted  Mr.  Parris. 

"Hold,  sir;  you  shall  hear  me  through.  Mr. 
Parris,  you  must  be  a  man  of  singular  shameless- 
ness,  craft,  ruthlessness  and  impudence,  withal. 
You  began  your  operations  with  sharp  bargaining 
about  your  stipend  and  sharp  practice  in  appro 
priating  the  house,  and  land  assigned  for  the  use 
of  successive  pastors.  You  wrought  so  diligently, 
under  the  stimulus  of  your  ambition,  that  you 
have  got  the  meeting-house  sanctioned  as  a  true 
church  and  yourself  ordained  as  the  first  pastor  of 


188  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Salem  Village.  Because  you  were  opposed  by 
Goody  Nurse,  her  sisters  and  others,  you  seek  to 
charge  them  with  offences  made  punishable  under 
our  laws  with  death." 

The  sallow  face  of  the  pastor  grew  almost  white; 
but,  in  a  voice  of  forced  calmness,  he  said: 

"Go  on — go  on!" 

"No;  it  is  for  you  to  tell,  without  further 
discussion,  why  you  brought  me  here.  Rather 
let  me  guess  it.  You  have  brought  me  to  say 
something  to  me  about  Cora  Waters.  You  have 
come  to  tell  me  she  is  a  witch,  and  I  tell  you  it  is 
false." 

The  passionate  minister  glared  at  the  youth  for 
a  moment  and  said: 

"  Charles,  do  you  deny  that  she  is  the  child  of  a 
player?" 

"I  do  not;  but  what 'sin  follows  being  the  child 
of  a  player,  or  being  even  a  player?  Nowhere 
does  the  Bible  condemn  the  actor  for  his  profes 
sion;  and,  if  the  player  be  godly,  his  calling  is 
unobjectionable.  Oh,  Mr.  Parris,  eradicate  from 
your  heart  the  deadly  poison  of  prejudice,  and 
there  will  appear  no  harm  in  that  fair,  innocent 
and  much-abused  young  maid.  She  has  ever  been 
a  child  of  sorrow  and  of  tears,  one  who  never  in 
thought  wronged  any  one.  Tell  me  that  child  is  a 
witch?  Mr.  Parris,  it  is  false!" 


CHARLES  AND  MR.    PARRIS. 


189 


"Then,"  cried  the  pastor,  suddenly  changing 
his  tone,  turning  to  Charles,  and  bringing  his. 
clenched  hand  down  upon  the  stone  fence  with  a 

force  that  laid  the 
knuckles  raw  and 
bleeding;     "then 
you  may  both  go 
down  —  down   to 
the    infernal    re 
gions    to 
gether!" 


"THEN  YOU  MAY  BOTH  GO  DOWN— DOWN  TO  THE  INFERNAL 
REGIONS  TOGETHER!" 

The  dark  look  of  hatred  and  revenge  with  which 
the  words  broke  from  his  livid  lips,  and  with 
which  he  stood  holding  out  his  bruised  and 


190  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

bleeding  hand,  made  Charles  shudder  and  turn  to 
go  home;  but  the  pastor  caught  his  arm. 

"Mr.  Parris,  let  me  go.  I  have  heard  quite 
enough.  We  understand  each  other  thoroughly." 

"And  you  will  not  give  her  up?" 

"Never." 

"Verily,  she  hath  bewitched  you." 

"I  do  not  believe  in  witchcraft." 

"  What!  Do  you  deny  the  word  of  God?  Have 
a  care!  You  are  going  too  far  in  this.  And  your 
mother?" 

"She  does  not  believe  in  it,  either." 

"  Charles,  why  have  you  and  your  mother  griev 
ously  opposed  me?"  he  demanded,  his  eyes  glaring 
with  hatred  and  his  breath  coming  hard,  while  a 
white  froth,  tinged  with  blood,  exuded  from  his 
lips. 

"Because  you  are  a  bad  man,  Mr.  Parris,"  cried 
Charles.  "You  are  a  saintly  fraud." 

The  rage  of  the  pastor  knew  no  bounds.  Point 
ing  his  wounded  and  bleeding  hand  at  Charles,  he 
cried: 

"Go!  and  may  the  curse  of  an  outraged  God  go 
with  you!" 

Charles  went  home. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

ADELPHA     LEISLER. 

Oh,  my  luve's  like  a  red,  red  rose, 

That's  newly  sprung  in  June  ; 
Oh,  my  luve's  like  the  melodie, 

That's  sweetly  played  in  tune. 
As  fair  art  thou,  my  bonnie  lass, 

So  deep  in  luve  am  I ; 
And  I  will  luve  thee  still,  my  dear, 

Till  a'  the  seas  gang  dry. 

— BURNS. 

THERE  are  moments  in  every  life  when  the  soul 
hovers  on  some  dark  brink.  It  may  be  the  brink 
of  atheism,  of  despair,  of  crime,  or  superstition. 
Outside  influences  go  far  toward  impelling  life's 
voyager  on  his  course.  If  the  current  takes  a  sud 
den  turn,  it  bears  him  in  a  different  direction  from 
which  he  had  intended.  The  human  mind  is  in 
explicable.  It  is  not  a  machine  that  can  be  taken 
apart  and  analyzed.  It  is  not  material  that  can  be 
grasped  and  comprehended.  It  is  that  mysterious 
knowing,  feeling  and  willing,  independent  of  cir 
cumstances;  that  immortal,  indestructible  portion 
of  man  called  soul.  It  is  governed  by  no  known 
191 


192  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

laws,  and  at  times  seems  to  assume  all  the  caprices 
of  chance. 

Charles  Stevens  was  a  youth  of  good  strong,  com 
mon  sense;  yet  he  could  but  feel  strangely  im 
pressed  by  the  words  and  the  awful  look  of  Mr. 
Parris.  The  man  was  surely  more  than  mortal. 
His  voice,  hollow  and  sepulchral,  seemed  to  issue 
from  the  tomb.  His  thin,  cadaverous  face  was 
sufficient  in  itself  to  inspire  wonder.  Those  great, 
blazing  eyes  had  within  them  all  the  fires  of  lunacy, 
fanaticism  and  cunning.  Mr.  Parris  was  nothing 
more  than  an  unscrupulous  bigot.  He  was  am 
bitious,  as  is  proven  by  his  machinations  in  getting 
himself  declared  the  pastor  of  Salem.  He  was 
greedy,  as  is  shown  by  his  taking  the  parsonage 
and  lands  as  well  as  demanding  an  increase  in  his 
stipend.  He  was  revengeful,  as  is  shown  by  the 
way  in  which  he  persecuted  those  who  opposed  him. 
He  was  unscrupulous  in  his  methods,  as  is  proven 
in  the  means  he  employed.  He  was  filled  with 
prejudice,  as  is  shown  in  his  assailing  Cora  Waters, 
because  her  father  was  an  actor;  yet  Mr.  Parris  be 
lieved  himself  a  righteous  and  holy  man,  walking 
in  the  path  of  the  just. 

Charles  Stevens  failed  to  tell  his  mother  of  the 
strange  interview  with  the  pastor,  somehow  he 
could  not.  He  unaccountably  shuddered  when  he 
thought  of  it,  and,  despite  the  fact  that  he  had 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  193 

little  superstition  in  his  composition,  lie  felt  at 
times  a  strange  instinctive  dread  at  the  awful  warn 
ing  of  the  pastor. 

Since  the  evening  on  which  the  name  of  Adelpha 
Leisler  had  been  mentioned,  Cora  Waters  had  been 
strangely  shy  and  reticent,  so  that  Charles  Stevens 
could  not  tell  her  of  the  interview  with  Mr.  Parris, 
even  if  he  would.  Cora  was  a  remarkable  girl. 
She  united  in  the  highest  perfection  the  rarest  of 
earthly  gifts — genius  and  beauty.  No  one  pos 
sesses  superior  intellectual  qualities  without  know 
ing  it.  The  alliteration  of  modesty  and  merit  is 
pretty  enough;  but  where  merit  is  great,  the  veil 
of  that  modesty  never  disguises  its  extent  from  its 
possessor.  It  is  the  proud  consciousness  of  rare 
qualities,  not  to  be  revealed  to  the  every-day  world, 
that  gives  to  genius  that  shy,  reserved  and  troubled 
air,  which  puzzles  and  flatters  you,  when  you  en 
counter  it.  Cora  realized  her  beauty  and  genius; 
but,  with  that  charming  versatility,  that  of  right 
belongs  to  woman,  she  had  the  faculty  of  bending 
and  modelling  her  graceful  intellect  to  all  whom  she 
met. 

Her  rare  genius,  however,  could  not  brook  the 
cold  reproofs  of  the  bigoted  Parris.  The  flower 
which  might  have  ornamented  his  chapel  and  filled 
the  little  church  with  sweetest  perfume  was  withered 

by   the    chilling  frosts  of  bigotry  and  prejudice. 
13 


194  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

A  player  could  yield  no  perfume  for  Christ,  and 
the  sweet,  musical  voice  was  stilled,  and  the  heart 
so  full  of  love,  emotion  and  religion  was  chilled 
and  driven  into  exile;  but  she  lived  and  hoped  in 
her  own  little  world.  The  sunlight  of  love  was  on 
her  heart,  until  the  name  of  Adelpha  Leisler  shut 
out  that  sunlight  and  left  all  in  darkness  and  de 
spair. 

Though  Cora  was  excommunicated  for  being  the 
child  of  a  player,  she  never  let  go  her  hold  on 
Christ.  Her  father,  strolling  actor  as  he  was,  had 
taught  her  to  look  to  God  for  everything,  and  in 
her  hour  of  trial,  she  knelt  in  the  seclusion  of  her 
own  room  and  prayed  that  this  cup  might  pass  from 
her  lips,  if  it  be  the  Lord's  will;  but  if  not,  she 
asked  God  to  give  her  strength  to  bear  her  suffering 
and  trials.  She  freely  forgave  Mr.  Parris,  for  she 
believed  his  persecution  of  herself  and  others  was 
through  mistaken  zeal. 

With  Charles  Stevens,  she  was  more  shy  than 
she  used  to  be.  She  kept  aloof  from  him  for  two 
or  three  days,  until  her  conduct  became  noticeable, 
and  Charles  one  day  sought  her  in  the  garden  for  an 
explanation. 

"Have  I  offended  you,  Cora?"  he  asked. 

She  turned  her  frightened  eyes  to  his  for  a  mo 
ment  and  answered: 

"No." 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  195 

"Then  why  do  you  avoid  me?  I  have  scarcely 
seen  you  for  three  days." 

She  was  overwhelmed  with  hope  and  confusion 
for  some  moments;  then,  with  a  faltering  voice, 
she  asked: 

"Did  you  wish  to  see  me?" 

"I  did,  Cora.  I  would  not  give  offence  to  you 
for  the  world,  and  I  feared  I  had  in  some  way 
wounded  your  feelings." 

"Charles,  was  not  Mr.  Parris  here  the  other 
morning?" 

"Yes." 

"You  went  away  with  him;  I  saw  you  through 
my  window." 

"I  did." 

"Why  did  he  come?" 

"Don't  ask  me  about  that  man.  He  is  one 
whom  I  would  to  God  I  had  never  known." 

"Don't  speak  so  of  him,  Charles." 

"Cora,  he  is  a  bad  man." 

"He  is  the  pastor." 

"  For  all  that,  he  is  cruel  and  bloodthirsty.  I 
know  it.  I  feel  it." 

Cora  shuddered  and  made  a  feeble  effort  to  de 
fend  the  pastor  who  had  persecuted  her;  but 
Charles,  who  had  the  retaliating  spirit  of  humanity 
in  his  soul,  declared  he  was  a  pious  fraud  and  a 
disgrace  to  his  cloth. 


196  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

On  their  return  to  the  house,  Mrs.  Stevens  met 
them  at  the  door  with  a  glad  smile  on  her  face,  and 
cried: 

"She  has  come,  Charles." 

"Who?"  he  asked. 

"  Adelpha  Leisler." 

Mrs.  Stevens  saw  an  immediate  change  in  the 
face  of  Cora.  The  features  which  had  begun  to 
glow  with  happiness  suddenly  grew  sad  and 
clouded,  and  the  eyes  drooped.  Charles  did  not 
perceive  that  sudden  change  so  apparent  to  his 
'mother,  for,  at  the  announcement  of  the  arrival  of 
one  whom  he  had  known  in  his  happy  childhood 
days,  his  heart  bounded  with  joy. 

"Where  is  she,  mother?" 

"With  Goody  Nurse." 

He  hastily  took  leave  of  Cora,  who,  with  an  op 
pressive  weight  on  her  heart,  which  seemed  to  al 
most  suffocate  her,  went  to  the  little  room  in 
which  she  had  known  so  much  joy  and  misery. 
AM  was  dark  now.  Her  heart  vibrated  pain 
fully  in  her  breast.  Hope  and  joy  seemed  for 
ever  banished.  He  was  gone.  She  could  hear 
his  footsteps  moving  away  from  the  house,  and, 
throwing  herself  on  the  couch,  she  gave  way  to 
a  fit  of  weeping.  Never  did  Cora  Waters  so  feel 
her  utter  insignificance  and  loneliness.  She  was 
a  child  of  an  indented  slave,  utterly  dependent 


ADELPHA   LEISLER.  197 

on  the  one  whom  she  had  had  the  audacity  to 
love. 

When  she  realized  how  unworthy  she  was,  the 
unfortunate  girl  sobbed,  half  aloud: 

"Oh,  God,  why  didst  thou  create  me  with  de 
sires  and  ambitions  above  my  sphere?  Why  didst 
thou  cast  me  into  this  place,  where  I  would  meet 
him,  only  to  suffer?  Father,  father,  come  and 
take  me  hence!" 

Meanwhile,  Charles  Stevens,  unconscious  of  her 
suffering,  was  hurrying  as  rapidly  as  he  could  to 
the  home  of  Goody  Nurse,  where  he  was  to  meet 
Adelpha  Leisler.  He  reached  the  house  and  was 
greeted  by  a  tall,  beautiful  young  woman,  with 
great,  black  eyes  and  hair. 

The  greeting  she  gave  him  was  warm,  almost 
ardent,  for,  although  Adelpha  was  an  accomplished 
young  lady,  she  had  all  of  the  genial  warmth  of 
youth.  They  were  soon  talking  pleasantly  of  those 
happy  days  of  long  ago. 

Glorious  past,  gone  like  a  golden  dream  to  re 
turn  no  more !  The  very  memory  of  such  pleasure 
produces  pain,  because  it  is  forever  gone.  Great 
changes  had  come  since  last  they  met.  His  father 
was  living  then,  a  handsome,  strong  man,  noted 
for  his  kindness  of  heart.  Many  friends,  who 
now  existed  only  in  pleasant  remembrance,  then 
lived,  breathed  and  moved  upon  the  earth. 


198  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Then  he  loved  Adelpha,  and  she  loved  him, 
and  he  half  hoped  that  this  meeting  in  mature 
life  would  reproduce  the  pleasant  sensations  of 
childhood;  but  there  is  a  love  which  is  not  the  love 
of  the  thoughtless  and  the  young — a  love  which 
sees  not  with  the  eyes  and  hears  not  with  the  ears, 
but  in  which  soul  is  enamoured  of  soul.  The  cave- 
nursed  Plato  dreamed  of  such  a  love.  His  follow 
ers  sought  to  imitate  it;  but  it  is  a  love  that  is  not 
for  the  multitude  to  echo.  It  is  a  love  which  only 
high  and  noble  natures  can  conceive,  and  it  has 
nothing  in  common  with  the  sympathies  and  ties 
of  coarse  affections.  Wrinkles  do  not  revolt  it. 
Homeliness  of  features  do  not  deter  it.  It  demands 
youth  only  in  the  freshness  of  emotions.  It  re 
quires  only  the  beauty  of  thought  and  spirit. 

Such  a  love  steals  on  when  one  least  suspects  and 
takes  possession  of  the  soul.  Such  a  love  cannot 
be  uprooted  by  admiration  or  fancy.  Charles 
Stevens  found  Adelpha  grown  so  beautiful,  so 
witty  and  accomplished,  that  he  was  awed  in  her 
presence  at  first;  but  her  freedom  of  manner  re 
moved  all  restraint,  and  in  an  hour  they  seemed 
transported  back  to  childhood's  happy  hours. 

Next  day  they  wandered  as  they  had  done  in 
earlier  years  by  purling  streams  and  mossy  banks, 
under  cool  shadows  of  friendly  trees.  Every  old 
playground  and  hallowed  spot  was  visited  once 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  199 

more,  and  they  lived  over  those  joyous  scenes  of 
childhood. 

"I  sometimes  wish  that  childhood  would  last 
forever,"  said  Charles. 

"Childhood  brings  its  joys,  but  its  sorrows  as 
well,"  Adelpha  answered,  as  she  sat  on  the  mossy 
bank  at  his  side,  her  bright  eyes  on  his  face. 
"One  would  grow  weary  of  never  advancing. 
Don't  you  remember  how,  in  your  boyhood,  you 
looked  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  time  when  you 
would  be  a  man  ?" 

"I  do." 

"And  how  you  planned  for  a  glorious  fu 
ture?" 

"I  remember  it  all." 

"  To  doom  you  to  perpetual  childhood,  to  con 
stantly  have  those  hopes  of  being  a  man  blasted 
would  eventually  bring  you  to  endless  misery. 
No,  Charles,  childhood,  to  be  happy  and  joyous, 
must  be  brief.  The  youth  with  ambition  longs  to 
enter  man's  estate.  He  sees  life  only  in  its  rosiest 
hues,  and  his  hopes  and  anticipations  form  half  his 
happiness." 

"Your  words,  Adelpha,  teach  me  how  foolish 
and  idle  was  my  remark.  Let  us  change  the  sub 
ject  to  something  more  practical.  Will  your  father, 
as  governor  of  New  York,  be  disturbed?" 

Her  face  grew  sad. 


200  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"I  have  great  fears." 

"For  what?" 

"Father  and  Jacob  Milborne  may  be  declared 
usurpers." 

"But  it  was  on  the  accession  of  William  and 
Mary  to  the  throne  of  England  that  your  father 
became  governor." 

"True.  It  was  not  until  Andros  had  been 
seized  in  Boston,  imprisoned  and  sent  to  England, 
that  my  father  suggested  the  seizure  of  Fort  James. 
He  was  made  commander  and  afterward  governor, 
and  so  holds  his  office  to  this  day.  I  don't  know 
how  William  and  Mary,  our  dread  sovereigns, 
will  be  affected  by  this  seizure  of  the  government 
of  New  York." 

"It  was  in  their  interest." 

"It  was  so  intended;  but  we  have  all  learned 
not  to  put  our  trust  in  princes.  It  is  quite  dan 
gerous  to  do  so,  and  I  sometimes  fear  that  trouble 
will  come  of  it." 

"  Surely,  Adelpha,  one  of  your  happy  turn  of 
mind  would  not  borrow  trouble.  It  will  come 
quite  soon  enough  without,  and  a  philosopher  would 
wait  until  it  comes  rather  than  seek  it." 

"  You  are  right,  Charles;  let  us  be  young  again, 
romp  in  the  wood,  chase  butterflies  and  forget  the 
dark  clouds  that  may  be  hovering  over  us."  She 
started  to  her  feet  and  asked:  "Charles,  who  is 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  201 

that  lovely,  but  shy  young  girl,  whom  I  see  hur 
rying  along  the  path?" 

He  looked  in  the  direction  indicated  by  Adel- 
pha's  jewelled  finger,  and  said: 

"She  is  Cora  Waters." 

"And  who  is  Cora  Waters?" 

"  A  very  sweet  and  amiable  girl  tarrying  here 
for  the  present.  Her  father  was  a  player,  and  he 
became  involved  in  the  rebellion  in  England." 

Charles  did  not  care  to  tell  all,  for  Cora  was  a 
disagreeable  subject  to  discuss  with  Adelpha;  but 
the  companion  of  his  childhood  was  not  to  be  so 
easily  put  off. 

"Charles,  she  is  very  pretty.  Why  have  you 
not  told  me  of  her  before?" 

"  I  did  not  suppose  you  would  be  interested  in 
her,"  the  young  man  answered. 

"  Not  interested  in  her,  with  all  the  romance  at 
tached  to  her.  A  child  reared  in  old  England,  of 
which  I  have  heard  so  much,  the  daughter  of  a 
player,  perchance  an  actress  herself.  Oh,  Charles, 
I  am  very  anxious  to  see  her  and  talk  with  her." 

"Adelpha,  do  you  forget  that  she  is  a  player?" 

"Oh,  no;  we  descendants  of  the  Netherlands 
look  on  such  things  in  a  far  different  light  from 
the  fanatical  Puritans  of  New  England.  I  must 
know  this  Cora  Waters." 

"You  shall." 


202  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

As  Charles  strolled  away  from  the  spring  with 
Adelpha,  the  face  of  Sarah  Williams  appeared 
from  behind  some  bushes.  Her  jet  black  eyes 
flashed  with  fire,  and  her  teeth  gnashed  until  they 
threatened  to  crack  between  her  angry  jaws. 

"He  hath  another!  Which  of  the  two  doth  he 
love  most?  I  will  know,  and  then — woe  betide 
her!" 

Sarah  Williams  was  cunning  and  utterly  un 
scrupulous.  As  she  glared  after  Charles  and 
Adelpha,  her  fertile  brain  was  forming  a  desperate, 
wicked  scheme.  She  watched  them  until  they 
disappeared  over  the  hill,  and  then,  turning  about, 
walked  hurriedly  to  the  parsonage. 

Adelpha,  who  was  a  merry,  light-hearted  girl, 
in  love  with  all  the  world,  insisted  on  forming  the 
acquaintance  of  Cora,  until  Charles,  to  gratify  her, 
granted  her  request,  and  the  maids  met.  Cora  was 
distant  and  conventional,  while  Adelpha  was  warm 
hearted  and  genial.  They  came  to  like  each  other, 
despite  the  fact  that  each  looked  on  the  other  as  a 
rival. 

Cora  had  given  up  Charles  Stevens,  realizing 
that  she  was  inferior  and  unworthy  in  every  sense, 
and  certainly  not  capable  of  competing  with  the 
daughter  of  the  governor  of  New  York.  On  the 
other  hand,  Adelpha  saw  a  dangerous  rival  in  this 
mysterious  maid  with  eyes  of  blue  and  hair  of  gold; 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  203 

but  Adelpha  was  honest  and  true,  as  were  the  old 
Knickerbockers  who  followed  her.  She  realized 
the  maid's  power  and,  in  her  frank  and  open  man 
ner,  loved  her  rival.  Despite  the  fact  that  they 
were  rivals,  the  girls  became  friends,  and  as 
Adelpha  had  learned  more  of  Cora's  trials,  she 
gave  her  the  full  sympathy  of  her  warm,  loving 
heart. 

Sarah  Williams,  who  watched  them  with  no  lit 
tle  interest,  asked  herself: 

"I  know  he  Joves  both.  Can  a  man  wed  two? 
No;  he  must  choose  between  the  two,  so  I  will 
stand  between." 

Charles,  on  account  of  his  superior  education, 
was  regarded  as  an  extraordinary  personage.  He 
was  gloomy  and  sad  of  late,  for  Sarah  Williams, 
with  her  keen  woman's  instinct,  had  probed  his 
secret.  He  was  troubled  to  know  which  maid  he 
loved  most. 

Cora,  with  her  melancholy  beauty,  appealed  to 
his  strong  emotions;  but  Adelpha,  with  her  fine 
figure,  her  great,  dark,  lustrous  eyes  and  charming 
manner,  seemed  equally  attractive.  If  Cora  were 
the  stream  that  ran  deepest,  Adelpha  was  the  one 
that  sparkled  brightest.  At  one  moment  he  was 
ready  to  avow  his  love  for  one,  and  the  next  mo 
ment  he  was  willing  to  swear  eternal  fealty  to  the 
other. 


204  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Late  one  afternoon,  he  wandered  with  Cora  at 
his  side  across  the  flowery  meadow  to  a  point  of 
land  presenting  a  grand  and  picturesque  view  of 
green  fields,  blue  hills  and  the  distant  sea.  They 
had  come  to  watch  the  sunset,  and  Charles  wished 
to  be  alone  with  Cora,  that  he  might  sound  the 
depths  of  his  heart  and  ask  himself  if  he  really 
loved  her. 

Her  father  was  to  come  in  a  few  days  and  take 
her  away  to  the  far-off  wilderness,  so,  if  he  spoke 
the  promptings  of  his  soul,  he  must  do  it  now. 
Long  they  sat  on  the  grassy  knoll  and  watched  the 
declining  sun. 

"How  long  have  you  known  Adelpha?"  Cora 
asked. 

"We  were  children  together." 
"Has  she  always  lived  in  New  York?" 
"Yes;  but  our  grandparents  knew  each  other. 
Matthew  Stevens  had  a  Dutch  friend,  Hans  Van 
Brunt,  whom  he  met  in  Holland.  When  Van 
Brunt  emigrated  to  New  Amsterdam  and  Matthew 
Stevens  to  New  Plymouth  they  renewed  their 
friendship.  Their  descendants  have  always  kept 
up  the  friendship.  Matthew  Stevens  was  my 
grandfather,  and  Hans  Van  Brunt  was  Adelpha 
Leisler's  great-grandfather.  When  quite  a  child, 
Adelpha' s  mother,  the  wife  <  f  a  prosperous  New 
York  merchant,  spent  a  year  in  Boston  where  I 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  205 

lived.  It  was  then  Adelpha  and  I  first  became 
acquainted." 

Cora's  eyes  were  on  the  distant  blue  hills;  but 
her  thoughts  seemed  elsewhere.  Charles  would 
have  given  much  to  have  known  what  was  in  her 
mind.  Did  she,  in  her  heart,  entertain  hatred  for 
Adelpha?  Her  remark  a  moment  later  convinced 
him  to  the  contrary. 

"  Adelpha  is  a  lovely  maid  and  as  good  as  she 
is  beautiful.  Her  lot  i^  a  happy  one." 

There  was  no  bitterness,  no  regret  in  the  remark; 
yet  her  words  were  so  sad,  that  they  went  to  the 
heart  of  Charles. 

"  Cora,  there  is  such  a  difference  in  the  lots  of 
people,  that  sometimes  I  almost  believe  God  is  un 
just." 

"Charles!"  she  cried,  quite  shocked. 

"Hear  me  out,  before  you  condemn  me,  Cora. 
Here  is  Adelpha,  who  has  known  only  sunshine 
and  happiness,  health  and  prosperity.  She  was 
born  in  a  wealthy  family,  and  has  all  the  luxuries 
that  riches  can  buy " 

"She  is  good  and  deserves  them,"  interrupted 
Cora.  "God  has  rewarded  her." 

"But,  on  the  other  hand,  you  are  just  as  good; 
yet  your  life  has  been  one  of  bitterness.  Misery 
seems  to  steal  some  people  at  their  birth;  but 
sometimes  there  come  changes  in  the  lives  of  peo- 


206  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

pie.  All  may  run  smoothly  for  a  while,  then 
storms  gather  about  the  head  of  the  child  of  for 
tune,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  to  one  who  has 
fought  and  struggled  through  storms  and  adversity 
a  peaceful  harbor  may  open " 

Cora  suddenly  said: 

"God  forbid,  Charles,  that  our  lots  should  be 
reversed.  I  would  not  have  Adelpha  Leisler  drain 
the  cup  of  bitterness,  as  I  have  done;  but  we  must 
change  our  subject,  for,  see  there,  Adelpha  and 
Alice  Corey  are  coming." 

lie  looked  up  and  saw  the  two  near  at  hand. 

Alice  Corey  was  a  bright-eyed  girl  of  fourteen, 
a  niece  of  Goody  Nurse  who  had  been  accused  of 
witchcraft.  She  was  a  girl  of  a  light  and  happy 
disposition,  and,  as  yet,  cares  sat  lightly  on  her 
brow. 

"Watching  the  sunset,  are  you?"  said  Adelpha, 
breathless  with  rapid  walking. 

"We  have  been,"  answered  Charles. 

"Well,  it  is  a  pretty  thing  to  see,  and  I  wish  he 
would  always  be  setting,"  declared  Alice  Corey. 

"A  child's  wish,"  answered  Adelpha.  "What 
would  become  of  your  flowers?" 

"I  am  sure  I  don't  know.  I  do  so  love  that 
red  tinge  over  there,  just  where  it  touches  the 
gray." 

"It  is  somewhat  like  that  queer  sea-shell  which 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  207 

Cora  showed  me  yesterday,"  said  Adelpha. 
"  What  splendid  paints  these  mermaids  must  use, 
down  in  their  deep  sea-caves!  It  is  a  kind  that 
does  not  rub  off  with  wetting.  The  shells  are  their 
pink  saucers." 

"What!  Do  they  really  paint?"  cried  the 
credulous  Alice. 

Charles  Stevens  laughed  softly  and  answered: 

"  No,  child.  You  must  not  believe  such  stories. 
I  will  tell  you  a  prettier  one  if  you'll  listen." 

"Oh,  I'll  listen!"  cried  Alice,  who,  like  all  chil 
dren,  was  ever  ready  to  give  ears  to  a  story. 
Charles  began : 

"  Once  upon  a  time,  long  before  Adam  and  Eve 
lived,  I  believe  it  was,  while  the  earth  was  young, 
there  lived  on  it  a  fair,  radiant  maiden,  sweeter 
than  the  breath  of  fresh-blown  roses  and  more 
lustrous  than  the  morning  star.  All  the  world  was 
her  own  paradise,  and  she  traversed  it  as  she  chose, 
finding  everywhere  trees  bearing  golden  fruit, 
which  never  turned  to  ashes,  flowers  in  perpetual 
bloom,  fountains  that  bubbled  and  birds  that  sang 
in  the  linden  groves,  all  for  her.  Nothing  was 
forbidden  her.  No  cares,  no  fears,  or  griefs 
marred  her  pleasures;  for  she  had  no  law  to  con 
sult  but  her  own  wishes.  When  she  would  eat, 
the  trees  bent  down  their  boughs,  and  whispered, 
'Choose  my  fruit.'  When  she  would  listen,  the 


208  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

birds  vied  with  each  other  in  their  melodies. 
When  she  would  walk,  the  green  sod  was  proud 
to  bear  her,  and,  when  weary,  the  gentlest  flower- 
laden  zephyrs  soothed  her  to  rest.  Thus  she  might 
have  remained  always  happy;  but  one  day  she 
chanced  to  see  herself  in  the  water,  and  she  thought 
how  every  thing  else  was  double.  Then  she  be 
came  conscious  of  a  strange  pain.  Every  thing 
now  lost  its  charm.  She  sought  a  companion;  but 
she  could  find  none.  Nothing  was  wanting  but 
the  thing  she  most  desired — the  sight  of  her  own 
kin.  At  last,  she  instinctively  felt  that  the  burn 
ing  gaze  of  a  lover  was  bent  upon  her  face,  and, 
looking  up,  she  saw  only  the  sun  in  the  sky,  shin 
ing  as  though  myriads  needed  his  light.  'Alas!' 
she  sighed,  'He  is  as  lonely  as  I,  and  he  shall  be 
my  lover;'  but  the  sun  was  coy  and  timid.  He 
gazed  proudly  at  her  from  a  great  distance,  and 
veiled  himself  behind  a  cloud  when  she  would  see 
him,  that  his  brightness  might  not  harm  her;  but 
he  never  came  nigh.  At  last,  when  she  was  worn 
out  with  longing  for  a  closer  companionship,  she 
set  out  to  find  her  adored  sun ;  and  as  she  sighed, 
'Shall  I  find  him  never?'  some  one  from  a  grotto 
near  by  answered,  'Ever?'  'Who  are  you?'  cried 
the  maid.  'I  am  a  bodiless  spirit,'  was  the  an 
swer,  'the  voice  of  one  that  is  gone.  I  tell  impos 
sible  things.  I  am  the  shadow  of  the  past,  the 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  209 

substance  of  events  to  come.  Man  is  a  mocker.' 
'Can  you  tell  me  where  to  find  my  lover?'  asked 
the  maid.  Echo  told  her  not  to  look  up  for  him, 
for  he  was  too  high  above  her,  not  to  seek  him  in 
the  east,  for  then  he  was  hastening  away;  but  to 
seek  him  in  the  west,  where  he  laid  himself 
and  rested  at  night,  for  the  night  was  made  for 
lovers.  Then  she  hastened  joyously,  till  she 
came  to  the  extreme  west,  to  the  very  edge  of  the 
world." 

"How  could  she  get  to  the  edge,  when  it  is 
round?"  interrupted  Alice. 

"Probably  the  world  was  not  round  at  that 
time,"  explained  Adelpha. 

Charles  went  on : 

"  The  maid  summoned  all  the  powers  of  nature 
and  the  air,  and  bade  them  build  a  palace.  It 
was  not  like  other  palaces.  There  were  no  jewels 
there;  but  every  thing  was  warm  and  crimson  and 
ruddy.  The  gates  were  parallel  bars  of  cloud, 
with  the  west  wind  for  warden.  Crystals  of  rain 
drops  paved  the  court-yard.  The  architecture  was 
floating  mists  and  delicate  vapors,  filled  with  a 
silent  music,  that  waited  only  for  the  warm  touch 
of  the  player  to  melt  it  into  soul-subduing  harmo 
nies;  and  along  the  galleries  ran  a  netted  fringe  of 
those  tender  whispers,  which  only  the  favored  may 
hear.  So  she  built  her  palace  and  filled  it  with 
14 


210  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

all  things  such  as  she  thought  the  sun  would  like, 
not  forgetting  an  abundance  of  fire  to  warm  him, 
lest  even  her  love  would  prove  insufficient  for  one 
of  so  fiery  a  nature.  Then  she  dismissed  her  at 
tendants  and  sat  down  alone  to  wait  his  coming. 
The  day  seemed  long  and  drear  and  weary ;  but 
she  had  seen  him  watching  her,  and  he  was  coming 
at  last.  Down  the  slope  he  glided,  holding  his 
fiery  steeds  in  check.  There  was  joy  for  the  deso 
late  one,  for  her  lover  was  coming;  but  the  pitiless 
sun  descended  and  swept  by,  scorning  the  open 
gates,  and  her  siren  voice,  that  would  have  wooed 
him  thither.  The  next  day  passed,  and  the  next, 
and  the  next,  and  she  was  still  disappointed;  but 
she  could  not  believe  that  all  her  labor  had  been 
in  vain,  and  still  she  nursed  her  sickly,  dying 
hope.  Though  that  sun  has  set  thousands  of  times 
since  then,  she  hopes  for  their  union  still.  In  the 
day  time  the  palace  is  dark  like  the  clouds;  but, 
as  evening  approaches,  she  lights  it  up  for  his 
coming.  Then  we  see  those  glorious  tints  of  crim 
son  and  gold  and  purple  and  dun,  dimming  till 
they  mingle  with  the  white  clouds  above,  and,  were 
we  near  enough,  we  might  possibly  hear  the  tones 
of  the  reviving  music,  as  it  melts;  but  as  the  sun 
goes  fairly  down,  the  music  hushes,  the  beautiful 
tints  fade  and  die,  the  palace  becomes  a  dark  spot 
again,  and  the  poor  Tittle  watcher  within  sighs 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  211 

forth  her  disappointment  and  composes  herself  to 
wait  for  another  sunset." 

"I  don't  believe  your  story,  Charles  Stevens," 
said  Alice,  at  the  conclusion,  "and  I  don't  see 
what  good  it  does,  anyhow,  to  make  up  such  a 
one  as  that." 

"The  moral  in  it  is  man's  faithlessness  and  wo 
man's  constancy,"  put  in  Cora  Waters,  who  had, 
for  a  long  time,  been  silent. 

Adelpha,  who  had  watched  the  sun  sink  beneath 
the  distant  blue  hills,  as  she  listened  to  Charles,  now 
chanced  to  glance  over  her  shoulder  at  the  sea  behind, 
with  the  moon  just  rising  above  the  watery  horizon, 
and  with  a  merry  pea]  of  laughter  she  added: 

"  Charles,  your  heroine  is  more  dull  than  modern 
maids,  or,  when  the  sun  jilted  her,  she  would  have 
wooed  the  moon." 

Alice,  rising,  said,  "It  is  growing  dark.  Let 
us  go  home." 

"Alice,  are  you  afraid  of  the  witches,  which 
seem  to  disturb  Mr.  Parris  and  Cotton  Mather?" 
asked  Adelpha. 

"There  are  no  witches,"  Alice  Corey  answered 
with  a  shudder.  "  Father  and  mother  both  deny 
that  there  are  any  witches,  and  it  is  wrong  to  cry 
out  against  my  aunt,  Goody  Nurse. " 

"I  dare  say  it  is.  The  evening  grows  chill. 
Let  us  go  home." 


212  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

As  the  four  wended  their  way  across  the  fields 
and  meadows,  Charles  Stevens,  who  walked  be 
tween  Cora  and  Adelpha,  cast  alternately  furtive 
glances  at  each,  sorely  troubled  to  decide  which 
he  liked  best. 

"Both  are  beautiful,"  he  thought.  "Ere  long 
I  must  wed,  and  which  of  the  twain  shall  it  be? 
Both  are  beautiful,  and  both  are  good;  but,  un 
fortunately,  they  are  two,  and  I  am  one." 

The  child,  who  had  lingered  behind  to  pluck  a 
wild  flower,  at  this  moment  came  running  after 
them,  calling: 

"Wait!  wait!     I  implore  you,  wait  for  me!" 

"What  have  you  seen,  Alice?" 

"A  black  woman." 

The  girls  were  almost  ready  to  faint;  but 
Charles,  who  was  above  superstition,  bade  them  be 
calm  and  hurried  through  the  deepening  shades  of 
twilight  to  the  trees  on  the  hill  where  the  woman 
had  been  seen.  He  came  in  sight  of  the  figure  of 
a  woman  clothed  in  black,  sitting  at  the  root  of  an 
oak. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  asked,  advancing  toward 
her. 

"  Charles  Stevens !"  she  gasped,  raising  her  head. 

"Sarah  Williams,  what  are  you  doing  here?" 

"Prythee,  what  are  you  doing?"  she  asked. 

"This  is  unaccountable." 


ADELPHA  LEISLER. 


213 


She  rose  and,  turning  her  white  face  to  him, 
said: 

"Charles  Stevens,  which  of  the  twain  do  you 


/ 


"  WHICH  OP  THE   TWAIN    SHALL  IT  BE  ?  " 

love  best?"  and  she  pointed  to  Cora  and  Adelpha. 
He  made  no  answer.  "Which  of  the  twain  is  it?" 
she  repeated.  "Aye,  Charles  Stevens,  you  shall 
never  wed  either.  Do  you  hear?" 


214  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Woman,  what  mean  you?" 

"You  cannot  decide  which  you  love  most. 
Wed  neither,  Charles.  Wed  me!" 

"You!"  he  cried,  in  astonishment. 

"Yes,  why  not?" 

"You  already  have  a  husband." 

"No;  he  is  dead,  he  was  lost  at  sea.  I  am  still 
young  and  fair,  and  wherefore  not  choose  me?" 

Charles  Stevens  burst  into  a  laugh,  half  merri 
ment  and  half  disgust,  and  turned  from  the  bold, 
scheming  woman.  She  followed  him  for  a  few 
paces,  saying  in  tones  low  but  deep: 

"Verily,  Charles  Stevens,  you  scorn  me;  but  I 
will  yet  make  you  repent  that  you  ever  treated  my 
love  with  contempt.  You  shall  rue  this  day." 

He  hurried  away  from  the  annoyance,  treating 
her  threats  lightly,  and  little  dreaming  that  they 
would  be  fulfilled. 

Winter  came  and  passed,  and  Adelpha  Leisler 
still  lingered  at  Salem.  Eumors  of  trouble  came 
to  her  ears  from  home;  but  the  light-hearted  girl 
gave  them  little  thought.  One  morning  in  May, 
1691,  Charles  met  her  coming  to  seek  him.  Her 
face  was  deathly  white,  and  her  frame  trembling. 

"What  has  happened,  Adelpha?" 

"There  is  trouble  at  home,  Charles,"  she  cried. 
''Father  and  Milborne  have  been  arrested  and 
imprisoned  and  I  fear  it  will  fare  hard  with  them. 


ADELPHA  LEISLER.  215 

I  want  to  set  out  for  New  York  at  once.  Will 
you  accompany  me?" 

"I  will." 

They  found  his  mother  and  Cora  and  told  them 
all.  He  implored  Cora  to  remain  with  his  mother, 
until  he  returned,  which  she  consented  to  do. 


CHAPTER   XII. 
LEISLER'S     FATE. 

The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  and  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 

Await  alike  the  inevitable  hour  : — 
The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave. 

—GRAY. 

IN  order  to  explain  the  sudden  danger  which 
menaced  the  father  of  Adelpha  Leisler,  and  which 
she,  like  a  true,  heroic  daughter,  hastened  to  brave, 
we  will  be  compelled  to  narrate  some  events  in  our 
story  of  a  historical  nature.  Jacob  Leisler  was  an 
influential  colonist  of  an  old  Dutch  family,  as  has 
been  stated,  and  a  Presbyterian. 

Under  the  reign  of  James  II.  the  Presbyterians 
had  suffered,  and  no  one  rejoiced  more  at  the  ac 
cession  of  William  and  Mary  than  did  the  Dutch 
of  New  York. 

Sir  Edmond  Andros,  the  weak  tool  of  the  Duke 
of  York,  had  rendered  himself  decidedly  unpopu 
lar  as  governor  of  New  York,  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts.  Every  one  rejoiced  when  he  was 
216 


LEISLER'S  FATE.  217 

finally  arrested  at  Boston  and  sent  to  England,  and 
no  one  rejoiced  more  than  the  New  Yorkers  them 
selves. 

The  accession  of  William  and  Mary  to  the  throne 
of  England  was  hailed  with  joy  throughout  the 
American  Colonies.  In  New  York,  a  general  dis 
affection  to  the  government  prevailed  among  the 
people.  Under  the  smiles  of  Governor  Andros, 
papists  began  to  settle  in  the  colony.  The  collec 
tor  of  the  revenues  and  several  principal  officers  of 
King  James  threw  off  the  mask  and  openly  avowed 
their  attachment  to  the  doctrines  of  Eome.  A 
Latin  school  was  set  up,  and  the  teacher  was 
strongly  suspected  of  being  a  Jesuit.  The  people 
of  Long  Island  were  disappointed  in  their  expecta 
tions  of  the  favors  promised  by  the  governor  on  his 
arrival,  and  became  his  personal  enemies,  and  in  a 
word  the  whole  body  of  the  people  had  begun  to 
tremble  for  the  Protestant  cause. 

Here  the  leaven  of  opposition  first  began  to  work. 
Intelligence  from  England  of  the  designs  there 
in  favor  of  Orange  elevated  the  hopes  of  the  dis 
affected  ;  but  until  after  the  rupture  in  Boston,  no 
man  dared  to  act.  Sir  Edmond  Andros,  who  was 
perfectly  devoted  to  the  arbitrary  measures  of  King 
James,  by  his  tyranny  in  New  England  had  drawn 
upon  himself  the  universal  odium  of  a  people  ani 
mated  with  a  love  of  liberty,  and  in  the  defense  of 


218  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

it  resolute  and  courageous.  Therefore,  when  un 
able  longer  to  endure  his  despotic  rule,  he  was 
seized,  imprisoned  and  afterward  sent  to  England  as 
has  been  stated.  The  government  was,  in  the 
meantime,  vested  in  a  committee  of  safety,  of  which 
Mr.  Bradstreet  was  chosen  president. 

Already,  information  of  the  popular  uprising  in 
England  for  the  Prince  of  Orange  had  reached  New 
York  and  was  stirring  the  blood  of  the  progenitors 
of  the  old  Knickerbockers,  who  longed  to  have  their 
own  beloved  prince  with  them.  On  receiving  news 
of  the  arrest  of  the  detested  Andros,  several  cap 
tains  of  the  New  York  militia  convened  themselves 
to  concert  measures  in  favor  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  Among  them  was  Jacob  Leisler,  Adelpha's 
father,  who  was  most  active  of  all.  He  was  a 
man  of  wealth  and  considerable  esteem  among  the 
people,  but  destitute  of  the  qualifications  essential 
to  such  an  enterprise.  His  son-in-law,  Milborne, 
a  shrewd  Englishman,  directed  all  his  councils, 
while  Leisler  as  absolutely  influenced  the  other 
officers. 

The  first  thing  they  contrived  was  to  seize  the 
garrison  of  New  York;  and -the  custom,  at  that 
time,  of  guarding  it  every  night  by  militia  gave 
Leisler  a  fine  opportunity  of  executing  the  design. 
He  entered  it  with  forty-nine  men  and  determined 
to  hold  it  till  the  whole  militia  should  join  him. 


LEISLER'S   FATE.  219 

Colonel  Dougan,  who  was  about  to  leave  the  prov 
ince,  then  lay  embarked  in  the  bay,  having  a  little 
before  resigned  the  government  to  Francis  Nichol 
son,  the  lieutenant-governor.  The  council,  civil 
officers  and  magistrates  of  the  city  were  against 
Leisler,  and  therefore  many  of  his  friends  were  at 
first  fearful  of  espousing  a  cause  opposed  by  so 
many  noted  gentlemen.  For  this  reason,  Leisler' s 
first  declaration  in  favor  of  the  Prince  of  Orange 
was  subscribed  by  only  a  few  among  several 
companies  of  the  train-bands.  While  the  people, 
for  four  successive  days,  were  in  the  utmost  per 
plexity  to  determine  what  party  to  choose,  being 
solicited  by  Leisler  on  the  one  hand  and  threat 
ened  by  the  lieutenant-governor  on  the  other,  the 
town  was  alarmed  with  a  report  that  three  ships 
were  coming  up  with  orders  from  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  This  report,  though  false,  served  to  fur 
ther  the  interests  of  Leisler;  for  on  that  day,  June 
3d,  1689,  his  party  was  augmented  by  the  addition 
of  six  captains  and  four  hundred  men  in  New 
York  and  a  company  of  seventy  men  from  East 
Chester,  who  all  subscribed  a  second  declaration, 
mutually  covenanting  to  hold  the  fort  for  that 
prince.  Until  this  time,  Colonel  Dougan  contin 
ued  in  the  harbor,  waiting  the  issues  of  these  com 
motions,  and  Nicholson's  party,  being  unable 
longer  to  contend  with  their  opponents,  were 


220  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

totally  dispersed,  the  lieutenant-governor  himself 
absconding  on  the  very  night  after  the  declaration 
was  signed. 

Leisler,  being  in  complete  possession  of  the  fort, 
sent  home  an  address  to  King  William  and  Queen 
Mary,  as  soon  as  he  received  the  news  of  their  ac 
cession  to  the  throne.  The  address  was  a  tedious, 
incorrect,  ill -drawn  narrative  of  the  grievances 
which  the  people  had  endured  and  the  methods 
lately  taken  to  secure  themselves,  ending  with  a 
recognition  of  the  king  and  queen  over  the  whole 
English  dominion.  This  address  was  soon  fol 
lowed  by  a  private  letter  from  Leisler  to  King 
William,  which,  in  very  broken  English,  informed 
his  majesty  of  the  state  of  the  garrison,  the  repairs 
he  had  made  to  it,  and  the  temper  of  the  people, 
and  concluded  with  a  strong  protestation  of  his 
sincerity,  loyalty  and  zeal. 

Jost  Stoll,  an  ensign,  on  delivering  this  letter, 
had  the  honor  to  kiss  his  majesty's  hand;  but 
Nicholson,  the  lieutenant-governor,  and  one  Ennis, 
an  Episcopal  clergyman,  arrived  in  England  before 
him,  and  by  falsely  representing  the  late  measures 
in  New  York,  as  proceeding  rather  from  their  aver 
sion  to  the  Church  of  England  than  zeal  for  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  Leisler  and  his  party  were  de 
prived  of  the  rewards  and  notice  which  their  activ 
ity  for  the  revolution  justly  warranted.  Though 


LEISLER'S  FATE.  221 

the  king  made  Stoll  the  bearer  of  his  thanks  to  the 
people  for  their  fidelity,  he  so  little  regarded 
Leisler's  complaints  against  Nicholson,  that  the 
latter  was  soon  after  made  the  governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  while  Dougan  returned  to  Ireland  and  be 
came  Earl  of  Limerick. 

Leisler's  sudden  rise  to  supreme  power  over  the 
province,  with  fair  prospects  of  King  William's 
approbation  of  his  conduct,  could  but  excite  the 
envy  and  jealousy  of  the  late  council  and  magis 
trates,  who  had  refused  to  join  in  aiding  the  revo 
lution  ;  and  hence  the  cause  of  all  their  aversion 
both  to  the  man  and  his  measures.  Colonel  Bayard 
and  Courtland,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  headed  the 
opposition  to  Leisler,  and,  finding  it  impossible  to 
raise  a  party  against  him  in  the  city,  they  very 
early  retired  to  Albany,  and  there  endeavored  to 
foment  the  opposition.  Leisler,  fearful  of  their 
influence,  and  to  extinguish  the  jealousy  of  the 
people,  thought  it  prudent  to  admit  several  trusty 
persons  to  a  participation  in  that  power  which  the 
militia,  on  the  first  of  July,  had  committed  solely 
to  himself.  In  conjunction  with  these,  who,  after 
the  Boston  example,  were  called  the  committee  of 
safety,  he  exercised  the  government,  assuming  to 
himself  only  the  honor  of  being  president  of  their 
councils. 

This   mode   of   government   continued  till   the 


222  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

month  of  December,  when  a  packet  arrived  with  a 
letter  from  the  Lords  Carmarthen,  Halifax  and 
others,  directed  to  "Francis  Nicholson,  esq.,  or, 
in  his  absence,  to  such  as,  for  the  time  being,  take 
care  for  preserving  the  peace  and  administering  the 
laws,  in  their  majesty's  province  of  New  York, 
in  America."  This  letter  was  dated  the  29th  of 
July  and  was  accompanied  by  another  from  Lord 
Nottingham,  dated  next  day,  which  empowered 
Nicholson  to  take  upon  him  the  chief  command, 
and  to  appoint  for  his  assistance  as  many  of  the 
principal  freeholders  and  inhabitants,  as  he  should 
deem  necessary,  also  requiring  him  "  to  do  every 
thing  appertaining  to  the  office  of  lieutenant-gov 
ernor,  according  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  New 
York,  until  further  orders." 

As  Nicholson  had  absconded  before  the  letter 
reached  New  York,  Leisler  considered  the  letter 
as  directed  to  himself,  and  from  this  time  issued 
all  kinds  of  commissions  in  his  own  name,  assum 
ing  the  title  and  authority  of  lieutenant-governor. 
It  was  while  he  was  thus  acting  as  governor  that 
his  daughter  made  a  visit  to  Salem  as  was  stated 
in  the  preceding  chapter.  On  the  llth  of  Decem 
ber,  he  summoned  the  committee  of  safety  and, 
agreeably  to  their  advice,  swore  in  the  following 
persons  for  his  council.  "Peter  De  Lanoy,  Samuel 
Stoats,  Hendrick  Jansen  and  Johannes  Vermilie, 


LEJSLER'S  FATE.  223 

for  New  York;  Gerardus  Beekman,  for  King's 
County;  Thomas  Williams  for  West  Chester, 
and  William  Lawrence,  for  Orange  County. 

Except  the  eastern  inhabitants  of  Long  Island, 
all  the  southern  part  of  the  colony  cheerfully  ac 
quiesced  to  Leisler's  command.  The  principal 
freeholders,  however,  by  respectful  letters,  gave 
him  hopes  of  their  submission,  and  thereby  pre 
vented  his  taking  up  arms  against  them,  while 
they  were  privately  soliciting  the  colony  of  Con 
necticut  to  take  them  under  its  jurisdiction.  It 
was  not  so  much  an  aversion  to  Leisler's  authority, 
as  a  desire  to  unite  with  a  people  from  whom  they 
had  originally  sprung,  which  prompted  the  Long 
Islanders  to  desire  a  union  with  Connecticut,  and 
when  Connecticut  declined  their  offer  of  annexa 
tion,  they  appeared  to  openly  advocate  Leisler's 
cause. 

At  Albany,  the  people  were  determined  to  hold 
the  garrison  and  city  for  King  William,  indepen 
dent  of  Leisler,  and  on  the  26th  of  October,  before 
the  arrival  of  the  packet  from  Lord  Nottingham, 
they  formed  themselves  into  a  convention  to  resist 
what  they  called  the  usurpation  of  Leisler.  As 
Leisler's  attempt  to  reduce  this  country  to  his  com 
mand  was  the  original  cause  of  divisions  in  the 
province,  and  in  the  end  brought  about  the  ruin  of 
himself  and  his  son-in-law,  it  may  not  be  out  of 


224  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

place  here  to  give  the  resolution  of  the  convention 
at  large,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  down  to  the 
usurping  governor. 

"  Peter  Schuyler,  mayor,  Dirk  Wessels,  recorder, 
Jan  Wendal,  Jan  Jansen  Bleeker,  Claes  Kipse, 
David  Schuyler,  Albert  Kyckman,  aldermen,  Kil- 
lian  Van  Rensselaer,  justice,  Captain  Marte  Ger- 
ritse,  justice,  Captain  Gerrit  Teunisse,  Dirk  Teu- 
nisse,  justices,  Lieutenant  Robert  Saunders,  John 
Cuyler,  Gerrit  Ryerse,  Evert  Banker,  Rynier  Ba- 
rentse. 

"Resolved:  since  we  are  informed  by  persons 
coming  from  New  York,  that  Captain  Jacob  Leisler 
is  designed  to  send  up  a  company  of  armed  men, 
upon  pretence  to  assist  us  in  this  country,  who 
intend  to  make  themselves  master  of  their  majes 
ties'  fort  and  this  city,  and  carry  divers  persons 
and  chief  officers  of  this  city  prisoners  to  New 
York,  and  so  disquiet  and  disturb  their  majesties' 
liege  people;  that  a  letter  be  written  to  Alderman 
Levinus  Van  Schaic,  now  at  New  York,  and  Lieu 
tenant  Jochim  Staets,  to  make  narrow  inquiry  of 
the  business,  and  to  signify  to  the  said  Leisler, 
that  we  have  received  such  information;  and  withal 
acquaint  him,  that,  notwithstanding  we  have  the 
assistance  of  ninety-five  men  from  our  neighbors 
of  New  England,  who  are  now  gone  for,  and  one 
hundred  men  upon  occasion,  to  command,  from  the 


LEISLER'S  FATE.  225 

county  of  Ulster,  which  we  think  will  be  sufficient 
this  winter,  yet  we  will  willingly  accept  any  such 
assistance  as  they  shall  be  pleased  to  send  for  the 
defence  of  their  majesties'  county  of  Albany;  pro 
vided  they  be  obedient  to,  and  obey  such  orders 
and  commands  as  they  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
receive  from  the  convention ;  and  that  by  no  means 
they  will  be  admitted  to  have  the  command  of  their 
majesties'  fort  or  this  city;  which  we  intend,  by 
God's  assistance,  to  keep  and  preserve  for  the  be 
hoof  of  their  majesties,  "William  and  Mary,  King 
and  Queen  of  England,  as  we  hitherto  have  done 
since  their  proclamation ;  and  if  you  hear  that  they 
persevere  with  such  intentions,  so  to  disturb  the  in 
habitants  of  this  county,  that  you  then,  in  the 
name  and  behalf  of  the  convention  and  inhabitants 
of  the  city  and  county  of  Albany,  protest  against 
the  said  Leisler,  and  all  such  persons  that  shall 
make  attempt  for  all  losses,  damages,  bloodshed,  or 
whatsoever  mischiefs  may  insue  thereon ;  which  you 
are  to  communicate  with  all  speed,  as  you  perceive 
their  design." 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  Leisler  at  New  York 
and  the  convention  at  Albany  were  equally  affected 
by  the  revolution,  nothing  could  be  more  egre- 
giously  foolish  than  the  conduct  of  both  parties, 
who,  by  their  intestine  divisions,  threw  the  prov 
ince  into  convulsions,  sowing  the  seeds  of  mutual 
15 


226  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

hatred  and  animosity,  which,  for  a  long  time  after, 
greatly  embarrassed  the  public  affairs  of  the  colony. 
When  Albany  declared  for  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
there  was  nothing  else  that  Leisler  could  properly 
require;  and,  rather  than  sacrifice  the  public  peace 
of  the  province  to  the  trifling  honor  of  resisting  a 
man  who  had  no  civil  designs,  Albany  ought  to 
have  delivered  the  garrison  into  his  hands,  until 
the  king's  orders  were  received;  but  while  Leisler 
was  intoxicated  with  his  new-gotten  power,  Bayard, 
Courtland  and  Schuyler,  on  the  other  hand  could 
not  brook  a  submission  to  the  authority  of  a  man, 
mean  in  his  abilities  and  inferior  in  his  degree. 
Animated  by  these  feelings  both  sides  prepared 
for  hostilities.  Mr.  Livingston,  a  principal  agent 
for  the  convention,  retired  into  Connecticut  to  so 
licit  aid  for  the  protection  of  the  frontier  against 
the  French.  Leisler,  suspecting  that  these  forces 
were  to  be  used  against  him,  endeavored  to  have 
Livingston  arrested  as  an  aider  and  abettor  of  the 
French  and  the  deposed  King  James. 

The  son-in-law  of  Leisler,  Jacob  Milborne,  was 
commissioned  for  the  reduction  of  Albany.  Upon 
his  arrival  before  the  city,  a  great  number  of  the 
inhabitants  armed  themselves  and  repaired  to  the 
fort,  then  commanded  by  Mr.  Schuyler,  while  many 
others  followed  the  members  of  the  convention  to 
a  conference  with  him  at  the  city  hall.  In  order 


LEISLER'S  FATE.  227 

to  win  the  crowd  over  to  his  side,  Milborne  de 
claimed  much  against  King  James,  popery  and  ar 
bitrary  power;  but  his  oratory  was  lost  upon  the 
hearers,  who,  after  several  meetings,  still  adhered 
to  the  convention.  Milborne  drew  up  a  few  of  his 
men  in  line  of  battle  and  advanced  to  within  a 
few  paces  of  the  fort  with  bayonets  fixed.  Mr. 
Schuyler  had  the  utmost  difficulty  to  prevent  both 
his  own  men  and  the  Mohawks,  who  were  then  in 
Albany,  and  perfectly  devoted  to  his  service,  from 
firing  upon  Milborne' s  party,  which  consisted  of 
an  inconsiderable  number.  Under  these  circum 
stances,  he  thought  proper  to  retreat,  and  soon  after 
departed  from  Albany.  A  second  expedition  in  the 
Spring  proved  more  successful,  for  he  gained  pos 
session  of  the  city  and  fort.  No  sooner  was  he  in 
possession  of  the  garrison,  than  most  of  the  prin 
cipal  members  absconded,  upon  which,  their  effects 
were  arbitrarily  seized  and  confiscated,  which  so 
highly  exasperated  the  sufferers,  that  their  pos 
terity,  for  a  long  time,  hurled  their  bitterest  invec 
tives  against  Leisler  and  his  adherents. 

It  was  during  these  intestine  troubles  and  the 
threatened  Indian  wars,  that  Governor  Leisler's 
daughter  was  in  Salem  out  of  the  way  of  danger. 
The  New  Englanders  were  keeping  up  a  petty  war 
fare  with  the  Owenagungas,  Ourages  and  Peno- 
cooks.  Between  these  and  the  Schakook  Indians, 


228  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

there  was  a  friendly  communication,  and  the  same 
was  suspected  of  the  Mohawks,  among  whom  some 
of  the  Owenagungas  had  taken  sanctuary.  This 
led  to  conferences  between  commissioners  from 
Boston,  Plymouth,  Connecticut  and  other  places, 
for  it  was  essential  to  the  peace  of  the  English  col 
onists  to  preserve  peace  and  general  amnesty  with 
the  powerful  Five  Nations,  and  hold  them  as  allies 
against  the  hostile  French  in  Canada  and  the  In 
dians  of  the  east. 

Colonel  Henry  Sloughter  had  been  commissioned 
governor  of  New  York,  January  4,  1689;  but  he 
did  not  arrive  to  take  possession  until  1691,  over 
two  years  after  his  commission,  when  the  vessel 
bearing  the  new  governor,  The  Beaver,  arrived  in 
the  harbor. 

Fair  historians  have  acquitted  Mr.  Leisler  of  any 
blame  in  what  others  have  been  pleased  to  call  his 
usurpation.  He  was  a  man  not  wholly  without 
ambition,  yet  he  was  honest  and  did  what  he 
thought  right.  He  had  much  of  the  stubbornness 
as  well  as  honesty  of  the  Netherlands  in  his  com 
position,  and  believing  himself  in  the  right,  deter 
mined  to  persist  in  it.  Jacob  Milborne,  his  Eng 
lish  son-in-law,  was  the  more  ambitious  of  the  two, 
and  had  guided  and  directed  the  affair.  Leisler 
was  sitting  in  his  house  when  informed  by  Mil- 
borne  that  a  vessel  called  The  Beaver  had  arrived, 


LEISLERS  FATE.  229 

bearing  Colonel  Sloughter,  who  purported  to  have 
a  governor's  commission. 

"Then  we  will  greet  him  as  our  governor/'  said 
the  honest  Leisler. 

"  Wait  until  you  know  he  is  not  an  impostor, 
and  that  this  is  not  a  trick  to  seize  our  fort,"  cau 
tioned  Milborne.  Then  Leisler,  reconsidering  the 
matter,  decided  to  wait. 

The  Beaver  brought  with  it  one  Ingoldsby,  who 
had  a  commission  as  captain.  When  Ingoldsby 
appeared,  Leisler  offered  him  quarters  in  the  city: 

"Possession  of  his  majesty's  fort  is  what  I  de 
mand,"  Ingoldsby  replied,  and  he  issued  a  pro 
clamation  requiring  submission.  The  aristocratic 
party,  which  had  long  been  chafing  under  the  rule 
of  the  republican  uprising  under  Leisler,  thus  ob 
tained  as  a  leader  one  who  held  a  commission  from 
the  new  sovereign.  Leisler,  conforming  to  the 
original  agreement  made  with  his  fellow-insurgents, 
replied  that  Ingoldsby  had  produced  no  order  from 
the  king,  or  from  Sloughter,  who,  it  was  known 
had  received  a  commission  as  governor,  and,  prom 
ising  him  aid  as  a  military  officer,  refused  to  sur 
render  the  fort.  The  troops  as  they  landed  were 
received  with  all  courtesy  and  accommodation ;  yet 
passions  ran  high,  and  a  shot  was  fired  at  them. 
The  outrage  was  severely  reproved  by  Leisler,  who, 
on  March  10th,  the  day  of  the  landing  of  the  troops 


230  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

issued  proclamations  and  counter  proclamations, 
promising  obedience  to  Sloughter  on  his  arrival. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  March  19th,  that  this 
profligate,  needy,  and  narrow-minded  adventurer, 
who  held  the  royal  commission,  arrived  in  New 
York,  and  Leisler  at  once  sent  messengers  to  re 
ceive  his  orders.  Leisler's  messengers  were  de 
tained,  and  next  morning  he  sent  the  new  governor 
a  letter  asking  him  to  whom  he  should  surrender 
the  fort.  His  letter  was  unheeded,  and  Sloughter, 
who  had  already  come  to  hate  the  republican 
Leisler,  ordered  Ingoldsby  to  arrest  him  and  all 
the  persons  called  his  council. 

The  prisoners,  eight  in  number,  were  promptly 
arraigned  before  a  special  court,  constituted  for  the 
purpose  by  an  ordinance,  with  inveterate  royalists 
as  judges.  Six  of  the  inferior  insurgents,  who 
made  their  defence,  were  convicted  of  high  treason 
and  reprieved.  Leisler  and  Milborne  denied  to  the 
governor  the  power  to  institute  a  tribunal  for  judg 
ing  his  predecessor,  and  appealed  to  the  king.  In 
vain  they  plead  the  merit  of  their  zeal  for  King 
William,  since  they  had  so  lately  opposed  his  gov 
ernor.  Leisler  in  particular  attempted  to  justify 
his  conduct  from  the  standpoint  that  Lord  Notting 
ham's  letter  entitled  him  to  act  in  the  capacity  of 
lieutenant-governor;  but  through  ignorance,  or 
sycophancy,  the  judges,  instead  of  delivering  their 


EIGHT   MEN,  BEARING   LITTERS,  WERE  AT  THE   DOOR.       ALL  WERE  DRIPPING 
WITH  WATER. 


LEISLER'S  FATE.  231 

own  opinion  on  this  branch  of  the  prisoner's  de 
fence,  referred  it  to  the  governor  and  council, 
praying  their  opinion,  whether  that  letter,  "  or  any 
other  letters,  or  papers,  in  the  packet  from  White 
hall,  can  be  understood,  or  interpreted,  to  be  and 
contain  any  power  or  direction  to  Captain  Leisler, 
to  take  the  government  of  this  province  upon  him 
self,  or  that  the  administration  thereupon  be  holden 
good  in  law." 

Of  course  the  decision  was  against  Leisler,  and 
they  were  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  justice  for  the 
crime  of  high  treason.  On  their  refusal  to  plead, 
they  were  condemned  of  high  treason  as  mutes, 
and  sentenced  to  death.  Joseph  Dudley  of  New 
England,  but  at  this  time  chief  justice  of  New 
York,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  Leisler  had  no 
legal  authority  whatever,  while  Sloughter  wrote: 

"Certainly,  never  greater  villains  lived;  but  I 
have  resolved  to  wait  for  the  royal  pleasure,  if,  by 
any  other  means  than  hanging,  I  can  keep  the 
country  quiet." 

Jacob  Leisler  was  tried  and  condemned  early  in 
May,  1691,  while  Charles  Stevens  and  Adelpha 
were  hastening  to  New  York.  Charles,  who  had 
heard  something  of  the  offence  of  Governor  Leisler, 
and  who,  young  as  he  was,  had  come  to  realize 
that  royalty  yielded  nothing  to  the  republican 
ideas,  began  to  fear  the  worst.  The  acts  of  Leisler 


232  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

had  the  semblance  of  popular  government,  and 
even  the  liberal  William  and  Mary  had  their  dread 
of  the  people.  Charles  knew  Sloughter  by  reputa 
tion  as  a  narrow-minded,  bigoted  knave,  who 
would  scruple  at  nothing  which  tended  to  elevate 
him  in  the  eyes  of  the  aristocratic  party,  of  which 
he  was  a  conspicuous  devotee.  Charles  could  offer 
but  little  consolation,  and,  as  he  contemplated 
Adelpha's  sad  future,  he  asked  himself: 

"  Has  the  wheel  of  fortune  changed  its  revolu 
tions,  and  is  the  sun  which  has  ever  shone  bright 
for  Adelpha  to  be  clouded?  God  forbid!" 

Charles  Stevens  and  Adelpha  reached  New  York 
on  the  very  day  the  assembly  was  convened  (May 
14th,  1691)  to  determine  the  fate  of  Leisler  and 
Milborne. 

It  was  evening,  and  when  they  entered  the  town 
and  the  once  beautiful  home  now  despoiled,  was 
dark  and  sad.  The  weeping  mother  met  her  daugh 
ter  at  the  door. 

The  character  of  the  assembly  was  thoroughly 
royalist.  It  passed  several  resolutions  against 
Leisler,  especially  declaring  his  conduct  at  the  fort 
an  act  of  rebellion,' and  on  the  15th  of  May,  the 
second  day  of  their  session  and  the  next  after  the 
arrival  of  Adelpha,  Sloughter,  in  a  moment  of  ex 
citement,  assented  to  the  vote  of  the  council,  that 
Leisler  and  Milborne  should  be  executed.  "The 


LEISLER'S  FATE  233 

house,  according  to  their  opinion  given,  did  approve 
of  what  his  excellency  and  council  had  done." 

The  families  of  the  doomed  were  notified  that  on 
the  next  day,  the  16th  of  May,  1691,  Leisler  and 
Milborne  would  be  hung.  The  morning  of  the 
16th  dawned  gloomy  and  dark.  The  rain  poured 
in  torrents;  but  Mrs.  Alice  Leisler  and  her  family, 
accompanied  by  Charles,  went  to  bid  the  doomed 
men  adieu  at  the  jail.  Then  Charles  hurried  the 
weeping  women  and  children  home.  Great  thun 
derbolts  seemed  to  rend  Manhattan  Island.  The 
lightning  spread  a  lurid  glare  on  the  sky,  and  the 
rain  fell  in  torrents.  All  of  the  household  knew 
what  was  being  done,  and,  falling  on  their  knees, 
they  prayed  God  for  strength.  Two  hours  wore 
on,  and  then  there  came  a  rap  at  the  door. 

Charles  went  and  opened  it.  Eight  men,  bear 
ing  litters,  on  which  were  stretched  two  lifeless 
forms,  were  at  the  door.  All  were  dripping  with 
water. 

"Come  in!"  said  Charles,  and  he  sprang  to  seize 
Adelpha,  who  had  fallen  to  the  floor  in  a  convul 
sion. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

CREDULITY   RUN   MAD. 

The  weird  sisters,  hand  in  hand, 
Posters  of  the  sea  and  land, 
Thus  do  go  about,  about ; 
Thrice  to  thine,  and  thrice  to  mine, 
And  thrice  again,  to  make  up  nine. 

—SHAKESPEARE. 

CHARLES  STEVENS  was  detained  in  New  York 
until  early  in  1692.  First  he  became  involved  in 
trouble  through  his  sympathy  with  the  unfortunate 
Leisler  family  and  was  thrown  into  prison ;  but  a 
few  days  later  he  was  released  on  bond.  Then  he 
lingered  awaiting  his  trial;  but  the  case  was  finally 
dismissed,  and  then  he  joined  an  expedition  against 
the  Indians  on  the  frontier.  He  wrote  home  regu 
larly  and  never  failed  to  mention  Cora  in  his  letter. 
All  the  while,  Charles  was  at  a  loss  to  decide 
whether  it  was  Cora  or  Adelpha  who  had  won  his 
affections.  Adelpha's  great  misfortune  and  grief 
only  seemed  to  endear  her  to  him,  for  the  noblest 
hearts  grow  more  tender  with  sorrow. 

Early  in  1692,  he  returned  to  Salem  after  an 
234 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  235 

absence  of  ten  months.  Great  changes  were  soon 
to  come  about.  Salem  was  about  to  enter  upon 
that  career  of  madness  known  in  history  as  Salern 
Witchcraft.  There  are  few  portions  of  ancient  or 
modern  history  which  exhibit  stranger  or  more 
tragical  and  affecting  scenes  than  that  known  as 
Salem  "Witchcraft,  and  few  matters  of  authentic 
history  remain  so  deeply  shrouded  in  mystery  at 
the  present  day.  The  delusion  has  never  been  satis 
factorily  explained,  and  time  seems  to  obscure 
rather  than  throw  light  upon  the  subject. 

At  this  period,  the  belief  in  witchcraft  was  gen 
eral  throughout  Christendom,  as  is  evinced  by  the 
existence  of  laws  for  the  punishment  of  witches 
and  sorcerers  in  almost  every  kingdom,  state,  prov 
ince  and  colony.  Persons  suspected  of  being 
witches,  or  wizards,  were  tried,  condemned  and 
put  to  death  by  the  authority  of  the  most  enlight 
ened  tribunals  in  Europe.  Only  a  few  years  be 
fore  the  occurrences  in  New  England,  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  a  judge  highly  and  justly  renowned  for  the 
strength  of  his  understanding,  the  variety  of  his 
knowledge  and  the  eminent  Christian  graces  which 
adorned  his  character,  had,  after  a  long  and  anx 
ious  investigation,  adjudged  a  number  of  men  and 
women  to  die  for  this  offence. 

Only  a  few  rare  minds,  such  as  Charles  Stevens, 
living  far  in  advance  of  the  age,  were  skeptical  on 


236  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  subject  of  witchcraft.  These  bold  spirits  placed 
themselves  in  great  danger  of  being  "cried  out 
upon"  as  witches  themselves. 

This  delusion  had  its  fountain-head  in  Salem; 
but  it  was  by  no  means  confined  to  this  locality. 
It  spread  all  over  the  American  colonies  and,  like 
most  superstitions,  hovered  along  the  frontier, 
where  it  was  fostered  in  the  shadow  of  ignorance 
and  grew  in  the  dark  halls  of  superstition.  The 
author  will  not  deny  that  there  are  many,  to  this 
day,  who  attribute  what  they  do  not  in  the  light  of 
reason  understand,  to  supernatural  agencies.  In 
Virginia,  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Illinois  and  Mis 
souri  there  existed,  in  their  early  days,  strange 
stories  of  witchcraft. 

If  the  butter  did  not  form  from  the  milk,  some 
witch  was  in  the  churn.  If  the  cattle  died  of  an 
epidemic,  or  a  disease  unknown  to  the  poor  science 
of  the  day,  it  was  the  result  of  witchcraft.  If  a 
child  or  grown  person  was  afflicted  with  some 
strange  disease,  such  as  epilepsy,  the  "jerks,"  "St. 
Vitus' dance,"  "rickets"  or  other  strange  nervous 
complaints,  which  they  could  not  understand,  they 
as  once  attributed  it  to  witchcraft. 

There  sprang  up  a  class  of  people  called 
"  witch-doctors "  who,  it  was  claimed,  had  power 
to  dispel  the  charm  and  bring  the  witch  to  grief. 
The  only  way  a  witch  could  relieve  herself  and  re- 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  237 

establish  her  power  was  to  go  to  the  house  of  the 
person  bewitched  and  borrow  something.  As,  in 
those  early  days,  all  articles  of  domestic  use  were 
scarce,  and  neighbors  depended  on  borrowing,  many 
an  old  lady  was  amazed  to  find  herself  refused, 
and  was  wholly  unable  to  account  for  the  sudden 
coolness  of  persons,  whom  she  had  always  loved. 

Mr.  Parris,  the  fanatic,  fraud  and  schemer,  per 
haps  did  more  to  augment  witchcraft,  than  any 
other  person  in  the  colonies.  Parris  was  ambi 
tious.  The  circle  of  young  girls,  as  the  reader  will 
remember,  first  held  their  seances  at  his  home. 
Their  young  nervous  systems  were  so  wrought  upon, 
that,  at  their  age  in  life,  they  were  thrown  into 
spasms  resembling  epileptic  fits.  Instead  of  treat 
ing  their  disease  scientifically,  as  such  cases  would 
be  treated  at  present,  the  parson  foolishly  declared 
that  they  were  bewitched.  Those  children  could 
not  have  been  wholly  impostors.  They  were  de 
ceived  by  the  preachers  and  the  zealous,  blood 
thirsty  bigots  into  actually  believing  some  of  the 
statements  they  uttered.  Their  nerves  were  shat 
tered,  their  imaginations  wrought  upon,  until  they 
took  almost  any  shape  capricious  fancy  or  the  evil- 
minded  Parris  would  dictate. 

"When  Charles  Stevens  arrived  in  Salem,  instead 
of  finding  the  dread  superstition  a  thing  of  the 
past,  to  be  forgotten  or  remembered  only  with  a  sense 


238  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

of  shuddering  shame,  he  found  that  the  flame  "had 
been  fanned  to  a  conflagration.  Mr.  Parris  and  Mr. 
Noyes  contrived  to  preach  from  their  pulpits  ser 
mons  on  protean  devils  and  monsters  of  the  air, 
until  the  more  credulous  of  their  congregations 
were  almost  driven  to  insanity.  One  evening,  as 
Parris  was  passing  the  home  of  Goody  Vance,  she 
met  him  at  the  door,  and,  with  a  face  blanched 
with  fear  and  annoyance,  said: 

"Mr.  Parris,  I  am  grievously  annoyed  with  a 
witch  in  my  churn." 

"What  does  she  do?"  he  asked. 

"She  prevents  the  butter  from  forming,  and  I 
have  churned  until  my  arms  seem  as  if  they  would 
drop  off." 

The  parson's  face  grew  grave,  and,  going  to  a 
certain  tree,  he  broke  some  switches  from  it  and 
entered  the  house. 

"Take  the  milk  from  the  churn,"  he  said. 
"  Pour  it  into  a  skillet  and  place  the  skillet  on  the 
coals  before  the  fire." 

This  was  done,  and  the  astounded  housewife, 
with  her  numerous  children,  stood  gazing  at  the 
pastor,  who,  with  his  white,  cadaverous  face,  thin 
lips  and  hooked  nose,  looked  as  if  he  might  have 
power  over  the  spirits  of  darkness.  He  drew  a 
chair  up  before  the  fire  and,  seating  himself,  began 
whipping  the  milk,  saying: 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD. 


239 


"I  do  this  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  which  he 
repeated  with  every  stroke. 

Goody  Nurse,  who  was  on  the  best  of  terms  with 


AT  EVERY   STROKE   HE   REPEATED,   "  I  DO  THIS  IN   THE   NAME  OF 
THE   LORD." 

Goody  Vance,  had  unfortunately  broken  the  spindle 
of  her  wheel  and,  knowing  that  her  neighbor  had 
an  extra  one,  came  to  borrow  it.  She  was  aston 
ished  to  see  their  pastor  seated  before  a  skillet  of 


240  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

milk  whipping  it  with  switches.  No  sooner  was 
her  errand  made  known,  than  Parris,  leaping  to 
his  feet,  cried: 

"No!  no!  lend  her  nothing,  or  you  will  break 
the  spell!  Avaunt,  vile  witch,  or  I  will  scourge 
you  until  your  shoulders  are  bare  and  bleed 
ing." 

Goody  Nurse,  astonished  and  terrified,  retired, 
and  next  Lord's  day  the  incident  formed  a  theme 
for  Mr.  Parris'  sermon.  This  was  the  first  sermon 
Charles  had  heard  since  his  return. 

"Mother,  I  will  go  no  more  to  hear  Mr.  Parris," 
Charles  declared,  on  reaching  home. 

"You  must,  my  son.  The  laws  of  the  colony 
compel  the  attendance  on  divine  worship." 

"Such  laws  should  be  repealed  as  foolish. 
Compel  one  to  go  to  church,  to  listen  to  such  non 
sense!"  and  Charles  hurried  away  in  disgust. 

Cora  had  been  watching  him  during  his  conver 
sation  with  his  mother.  He  had  scarcely  been 
able  to  speak  with  her  at  all  since  his  return. 
Charles  turned  toward  her  as  he  ceased  speaking, 
and  Cora,  seeming  to  dread  meeting  his  eyes,  was 
about  to  disappear  into  her  room,  when  he  called 
her: 

"Cora,  don't  go  away.     I  must  talk  with  you." 

"What  would  you  say?"  she  asked,  her  heart 
fluttering  in  her  bosom  like-a  captive  bird. 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  241 

"  There  is  much.  Let  us  go  down  to  the  brook 
and  sit  on  the  green  banks  as  we  used  to  do." 

She  trembled,  hesitated  a  moment  and  ac 
quiesced.  They  went  slowly  down  the  path, 
neither  saying  a  word  until  the  brook  was  reached. 
When  they  were  seated  on  the  bank,  Charles  asked: 

"Cora,  are  you  still  persecuted  by  Mr.  Parris? 
Does  he  continue  to  denounce  you?" 

"He  does." 

"  That  is  an  evidence  that  he  is  a  man  of  low 
qualities.  And  he  still  assails  Goody  Nurse?" 

"Yes,  sir.  Goody  Nurse,  Goody  Corey,  Bishop 
and  Casty  have  all  been  cried  out  upon,  and  it  is 
not  known  when  they  will  stop." 

"  This  craze  has  assumed  dangerous  proportions, 
Cora." 

"  It  has.  They  are  going  to  law,"  she  answered. 
"Some  are  already  in  jail." 

"I  have  heard  of  it,  and,  with  prejudiced  judges 
and  juries  and  false  witnesses,  life  will  be  in  great 
peril." 

"I  know  it." 

Then  Charles  was  silent  for  a  moment,  listening 
to  the  song  of  a  bird  in  its  leafy  bower.  When 
the  feathered  songster  had  warbled  forth  his  lay 
and  flown  to  a  distant  tree  on  which  to  try  its 
notes,  Charles  asked: 

"Have  you  seen  your  father  recently?" 
16 


242  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"He  was  here  two  months  ago." 

"Did  he  want  to  take  you  away  with  him?" 

"He  did;  but  I  could  not  go.  I  promised  to 
remain  until  your  return." 

"  Cora,  may  it  not  be  dangerous  so  far  on  the 
frontier?" 

"  There  is  danger;  but  he  has  secured  me  a  home 
with  the  family  of  Mr.  Dustin,  where  he  thinks  I 
will  be  safe." 

"Is  your  father's  brother  with  him?" 

"He  is." 

"Did  they  come  here  together?" 

"Yes;  they  are  inseparable." 

"  Cora,  don't  you  think  there  is  some  mystery 
about  those  brothers,  which  you  do  not  under 
stand?" 

"I  know  there  is." 

"Were  they  both  players?" 

"I  believe  they  once  were." 

"  Have  you  told  your  father  of  the  persecutions 
of  Mr.  Parris?" 

"Not  all." 

"Why  not?" 

"  It  would  have  done  no  good,  and  would  have 
caused  him  unnecessary  annoyance,"  she  answered 
meekly. 

"Just  like  you,  Cora,  always  afraid  of  making 
some  one  trouble." 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  243 

Her  eyes  were  on  the  brooklet  and  filled  with 
tears,  as  she  remembered  how  happy  Adelpha 
Leisler  had  been  when  at  Salem,  and  how  heavily 
the  hand  of  affliction  had  fallen  upon  her. 

"Charles,  were  you  with  her  when  it  happened?" 
she  asked. 

"I  was." 

"Did  you  comfort  her?" 

"  Such  poor  words  of  comfort  as  one  can  offer  on 
such  occasions,  I  gave  her,"  he  answered. 

"It  was  so  sad,  and  she  is  so  good,  so  kind  and 
so  noble.  Did  she  bear  up  well  under  her  great 
afflictions?" 

"As  well  as  one  could." 

"  Alas,  the  fires  of  affliction  are  to  try  the  faith 
ful.  God  gave  her  strength  to  bear  up  under  her 
trials  and  sufferings." 

"Her  troubles  are  over,  Cora,  and  ours  are  but 
just  begun." 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

"This  cloud  of  superstition  which  is  settling 
about  us  may  engulf  us  in  ruin." 

She  made  no  answer.  Cora  was  very  pretty  as 
she  sat  on  the  embankment,  her  eyes  upon  the 
crystal  stream,  gliding  onward  like  a  gushing, 
gleesome  child,  and  he  could  not  but  declare  her 
the  most  beautiful  being  he  had  ever  seen.  Charles 
Stevens  was  no  coquette.  He  was  not  trifling  with 


244  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  heart  or  happiness  of  either  Cora  or  Adelpha, 
and  he  had  never  yet  spoken  a  word  of  love  to 
either.  Both  had  won  his  sympathy,  his  esteem 
and  admiration;  but,  until  he  had  satisfied  himself 
which  had  in  reality  won  his  heart,  he  would  make 
no  avowal  to  either.  Seeing  that  what  he  said 
was  calculated  to  throw  a  shade  of  gloom  over  her, 
he  changed  the  subject  by  saying: 

"Let  us  not  anticipate  evil,  Cora.  Wait  until 
it  is  upon  us." 

"Spoken  like  a  -philosopher,"  she  answered; 
"  but,  Charles,  if  you  see  evil  in  the  future,  why 
not  all  go  away?" 

"Where  should  we  go?" 

"Far  to  the  north  and  east.  My  father  has 
found  a  home  in  the  heart  of  a  great,  dense  forest. 
There  man  is  as  free  as  the  birds  of  the  air,  and 
nothing  can  fetter  thought  or  will.  No  bigoted 
pastor  can  say,  'You  shall  worship  God  in  this 
fashion;'  but  all  are  permitted  to  worship  God  as 
they  choose.  There  are  only  the  friendly  skies, 
the  grand  old  forest  and  God  to  judge  human  ac 
tions,  instead  of  narrow-minded  people,  with  false 
notions  of  religion." 

"I  could  not  go,  Cora." 

"Why  not?" 

"  This  is  my  home.  I  know  no  other.  Over 
in  yonder  church -yard,  sleeps  my  sainted  father. 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  245 

He  won  this  pleasant  home  from  the  stern,  unyield 
ing  wilderness,  and  I  will  not  be  driven  from  it  by 
a  set  of  false  fanatics,  who  accuse,  or  may  accuse 
us  of  impossible  crimes." 

"  Charles,  if  my  father  builds  us  a  home  in  the 
great  wilderness,  won't  you  and  your  mother  come 
and  visit  with  us,  until  this  storm  cloud  has  blown 
away?  I  do  not  ask  you  to  give  up  your  home. 
I  do  not  ask  you  to  shrink  from  the  defence  of  it; 
but  a  short  sojourn  abroad  cannot  be  thought  to  be 
an  abandonment.  You  should  accept  our  hospi 
tality  to  afford  us  an  opportunity  to  repay  the  debt 
of  gratitude  we  owe,  as  well  as  to  secure  your  mother 
from  an  annoyance,  which  is  growing  painful." 

Her  argument  was  very  strong  and  had  its 
weight  with  Charles. 

"When  do  you  expect  your  father?"  he  asked. 

"Any  time,  or  no  time.  He  knows  not  him 
self  when  he  may  come.  Poor  father;  he  hath 
labored  arduously  to  subdue  the  forest  and  build 
us  a  home.  We  had  nothing, — we  were  slaves." 

"But  slaves  no  longer,  Cora." 

"  Why  not?     Our  term  has  not  expired." 

"  King  William  has  pardoned  all  the  participa 
tors  in  Monmouth's  rebellion." 

For  a  moment,  she  was  overwhelmed  with  joy 
and,  clapping  her  hands,  gazed  toward  heaven, 
murmuring : 


246  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Oh  my  God,  I  thank  thee!"  but,  anon,  the  re 
action  came.  The  pardon  for  participation  in 
Monmouth's  rebellion  was  granted;  but  the  sub 
sequent  crime — the  flight  from  the  master  and  the 
slaying  of  the  overseer — could  not  be  cured  by  the 
king's  pardon  to  the  Monmouth  rebels.  With  a 
gasping  sob,  she  said: 

"But  that  other — that  awful  thing?" 

"What,  Cora?" 

"The  flight,  the  pursuit  and  the  death  of  the 
overseer.  Oh,  Charles,  we  can  never  be  safe, 
while  that  hangs  over  us." 

Charles  Stevens  gazed  upon  the  pretty  face 
bathed  in  tears,  beheld  the  agony  which  seemed  to 
overwhelm  her,  and  his  soul  went  out  toward  the 
poor  maid.  He  had  little  consolation  to  offer;  but 
his  fertile  brain  was  not  wholly  barren  of  resources. 

"Cora,  don't  give  way  to  despair,"  he  said. 
"What  your  father  did  was  right  and  justifiable, 
though  technically  the  law  may  take  a  different 
view.  I  have  a  relative  living  in  Virginia,  wealthy 
and  influential.  I  shall  write  to  him  to  procure  a 
pardon  for  your  father." 

"  I  know  him.  The  good  man,  Kobert  Stevens, 
who  so  kindly  gave  us  a  home  and  aided  us  to  es 
cape.  He  will  do  all  he  can  for  us." 

"He  is  rich  and  powerful,  and  I  believe  he  can 
ultimately  procure  a  pardon  for  Mr.  Waters." 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  247 

Having  consoled  her,  they  rose  and  returned  to 
the  house. 

That  same  evening,  Charles  Stevens  met  John 
Ely  near  the  house  of  his  mother. 

"How  have  you  been,  John?"  Charles  asked. 
"This  is  the  first  time  I  have  seen  you  since  my 
return." 

"I  am  as  well  as  one  can  be  who  has  been  rid 
den  twenty  leagues,"  Ely  answered. 

"  .Ridden  twenty  leagues?"  cried  Charles  Stevens 
in  amazement.  "Pray  what  do  you  mean?" 

"I  was  turned  into  a  horse  last  night  and  ridden 
twenty  leagues  during  the  darkness,  and  I  am  sore 
and  almost  exhausted  now." 

Charles  laughed  and  passed  on. 

"I  verily  believe  that  all  are  going  mad,"  he 
thought.  As  he  went  away,  he  heard  Ely  say: 

"  Verily,  if  you  doubt  that  this  one  Martin  is  a 
witch,  fall  but  once  in  her  power,  and  you  will 
give  ear  to  what  I  have  said  of  her." 

Next  day  he  met  John  Kembal,  a  woodman. 
Kembal  had  his  axe  on  his  shoulder,  and  his  face 
was  very  pale. 

"Charles,  why  did  you  not  tarry  in  the  west?" 
he  asked.  "Why  came  you  back  to  this  land 
most  accursed  of  devils." 

"John  Kembal,  have  you,  too,  gone  mad  over 
this  delusion  of  witchcraft?"  asked  Charles. 


248  THE    WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Charles,  verily,  you  have  forgotten  that  the 
Scriptures  say  that  he  that  hath  eyes  let  him  see, 
and  he  that  hath  ears  let  him  hear.  Thank  God, 
I  have  both  eyes  and  ears,  and  I  have  seen  and 
heard,  though  I  would  that  I  had  not." 

"What  have  you  seen,  John  Kembal?"  Charles 
asked. 

"  I  will  tell  you  without  delay ;  but  I  can  but 
pause  to  thank  God  with  every  breath  that  she  can 
no  longer  do  me  injury,  seeing  she  is  in  prison 
and  chains." 

"Whom  do  you  accuse?" 

"  Susanna  Martin. " 

"What  harm  has  she  done  you?" 

"Listen,  and  I  will  tell  you  all  that  I  know 
myself.  Susanna  Martin,  the  accused,  upon  a 
causeless  disgust,  did  threaten  me,  about  a  certain 
cow  of  mine,  that  she  should  never  do  me  any 
more  good,  and  it  came  to  pass  accordingly;  for, 
soon  after,  the  cow  was  found  dead  on  the  dry 
ground,  without  any  distemper  to  be  discerned 
upon  her;  upon  which  I  was  followed  with  a 
strange  death  upon  more  of  my  cattle,  whereof  I 
lost  to  the  value  of  thirty  pounds." 

"Perchance,  some  disease  broke  out  among 
them,"  suggested  Charles. 

"Nay,  nay;  do  not  forge  that  excuse  for  this 
creature  of  darkness.  I  have  more  to  tell. 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  249 

Being  desirous  to  furnish  myself  with  a  dog,  I  ap 
plied  myself  to  buy  one  of  this  Martin,  who  had  a 
female  with  whelps  in  her  house;  but  she  not  let 
ting  me  have  my  choice,  I  said  I  would  supply 
myself  at  one  Blezdel's,  whereupon  I  noticed  that 
she  was  greatly  displeased.  Having  marked  a 
puppy  at  Blezdel's,  I  met  George  Martin,  the  hus 
band  of  Susanna  Martin,  who  asked  me: 

"'Will  you  not  have  one  of  my  wife's  pup 
pies?'  and  I  answered: 

'"No;  I  have  got  one  at  Blezdel's,  which  Hike 
better. ' 

"  The  same  day  one  Edmond  Eliot,  being  at 
Martin's  house,  heard  George  Martin  relate  to  his 
wife  that  I  had  been  at  Blezdel's  and  had  bought  a 
puppy.  Whereupon  Susanna  Martin  flew  into  a 
great  rage  and  answered: 

" '  If  I  live,  I'll  give  him  puppies  enough!' 

"  Within  a  few  days  after,  I  was  coming  out  of 
the  woods,  when  there  arose  a  little  black  cloud  in 
the  northwest,  and  I  immediately  felt  a  force  upon 
me,  which  made  me  not  able  to  avoid  running  upon 
the  stumps  of  trees  that  were  before  me,  albeit  I 
had  a  broad,  plain  cart- way  before  me;  but  though 
I  had  my  axe  on  my  shoulder,  to  endanger  me  in 
my  falls,  I  could  not  forbear  going  out  of  my  way 
to  tumble  over  the  stumps,  where  the  trees  had 
been  cut  away.  When  I  came  below  the  meeting- 


250 


THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 


house,  there  appeared  unto  me  a  little  thing  like  a 
puppy,  of  a  darkish  color,  and  it  shot  backward 
and  forward  between  my  legs.  I  had  the  courage 
to  use  all  possible  endeavors  of  cutting  it  with  my 

axe;  but  I  could 
not  hit  it.  The 
puppy  gave  a  jump 
from  me  and  went, 
as  to  me  it  seemed, 
into  the  ground.* 

"On  going  a  little 
further,  there  ap 
peared  unto  me  a 
black  puppy,  some 
what  bigger  than  the 
first,  but  as  black  as 
a  coal.  Its  motions 
were  quicker  than 
those  of  my  axe;  it 

"ITS  MOTIONS  WERE   QUICKER  THAN     n  in 

THOSE  OK  MY  AXE."  fleW  at  mJ  be%>  aTld 

away;    then    at  my 

throat;  so,  over  my  shoulder  one  way,  and  then 
over  my  shoulder  another  way.  My  heart  now 
began  to  fail  me,  and  I  thought  the  dog  would 
have  torn  my  throat  out;  but  I  recovered  myself 
and  called  upon  God  in  my  distress;  and,  naming 

*  See  Cotton  Mather's  "  Wonders  of  the  Invisible  World, " 
p.  144, 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  251 

the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  vanished  away  at 
once." 

Charles  Stevens  tried  to  argue  with  Ely  that  he 
had  had  an  attack  of  blind  staggers,  and  that  the 
dog  was  only  an  optical  delusion;  but  he  could  in 
no  way  convince  him  that  it  was  not  a  reality,  and 
that  he  was  not  bewitched. 

According  to  Mr.  Bancroft,  New  England,  like 
Canaan,  had  been  settled  by  fugitives.  Like  the 
Jews,  they  had  fled  to  a  wilderness.  Like  the 
Jews,  they  had  looked  to  heaven  for  a  light  to  lead 
them  on.  Like  the  Jews,  they  had  heathen  for 
their  foes,  and  they  derived  their  highest  legisla 
tion  from  the  Jewish  code.  Cotton  Mather  said, 
"New  England  being  a  country  whose  interests 
are  remarkably  inwrapped  in  ecclesiastical  circum 
stances,  ministers  ought  to  concern  themselves  in 
politics."  Cotton  Mather  and  Mr.  Parris  did  con 
cern  themselves  in  politics,  and  the  latter,  being 
unscrupulous  and  ambitious  as  well  as  fanatical, 
caused  hundreds  of  unfortunate  people  to  mourn. 

The  circle  of  children  who  had  been  meeting  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Parris  began  to  perform  wonders. 
In  the  dull  life  of  the  country,  the  excitement  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  "  circle "  was  welcome,  no 
doubt,  and  it  was  always  on  the  increase.  The 
human  mind  requires  amusement,  as  the  human 
body  requires  food,  exercise  and  rest,  and  when 


252  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

healthful  and  innocent  amusements  are  denied,  re 
sort  is  had  to  the  low  and  vicious.  Mr.  Parris, 
who  preached  sermons  against  the  evils  of  the 
theatre  and  excommunicated  the  child  of  an  actor, 
fostered  in  his  own  house  an  amusement  as  dia 
bolical  and  dangerous  as  has  ever  been  known. 
Results  of  that  circle  were  wonderful.  Whatever 
trickery  there  might  be — and,  no  doubt,  there  was 
plenty;  whatever  excitement  to  hysteria;  whatever 
actual  sharpening  of  common  faculties,  it  is  clear 
that  there  was  more;  and  those  who  have  given 
due  and  dispassionate  attention  to  the  process  of 
mesmerism  and  its  effects  can  have  no  difficulty  in 
understanding  the  reports  handed  down  of  what 
these  young  creatures  did  and  said  and  saw,  under 
peculiar  conditions  of  the  nervous  system.  When 
the  physicians  of  the  district  could  see  no  explana 
tion  of  the  ailments  of  the  afflicted  children  "but 
the  evil  hand,"  they,  with  one  accord,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  their  afflictions  were  through  the 
agencies  of  Satan. 

Convulsions  and  epilepsy  are  among  the  many 
mysteries  which  medical  science  has  not  mastered 
to  this  day,  and  one  cannot  wonder  that  the  doctors 
two  centuries  ago  should  declare  the  afflicted  ones 
bewitched.  Then  came  the  inquiry  as  to  who  had 
stricken  the  children,  and  the  readiest  means  that 
occurred  was  to  ask  this  question  of  the  children 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  253 

themselves.  At  first  they  refused  to  disclose  any 
names;  but  there  was  soon  an  end  to  any  such 
delicacy.  The  first  prominent  symptoms  occurred 
in  November,  1691,  and  the  first  public  examina 
tion  of  witches  took  place  March  1st,  1692,  just 
before  the  return  of  Charles  Stevens  from  New 
York. 

One  among  the  first  arrested  was  Sarah  Good, 
a  weak  ignorant,  poor,  despised  woman,  whose 
equally  weak  and  ignorant  husband  had  abandoned 
her,  leaving  her  to  the  rnercy  of  evil  tongues. 
This  ignorant  woman  was  taken  to  jail,  and, 
shortly  after,  her  child,  little  Dorcas,  only  four 
years  old,  was  also  arrested  and  imprisoned  in 
chains  on  charge  of  witchcraft.  All  this  met  the 
approval  of  Mr.  Parris,  whose  pale,  thin  face 
glowed  with  triumph  as  he  declared: 

"  Now  is  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  the  con 
sumption  of  the  fire-brands  of  hell." 

No  wonder  Charles  Stevens  was  serious.  Over 
twenty  people  were  in  prison  on  charge  of  witch 
craft,  among  them  an  Irish  woman,  a  Roman  Cath 
olic,  hated  more  on  account  of  her  religion  than 
any  suspicion  of  evil  against  her.  She  was  among 
the  first  to  hang. 

Parris,  the  wild-eyed  fanatic,  swinging  his  arms 
about,  walked  up  and  down  the  village,  crying 
against  the  evil  spirits  of  the  air  and  longing  to 


254  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

get  his  clutches  on  the  vile  actor,  who  had  dared 
enter  the  consecrated  village  of  Salem. 

One  evening  Mr.  Waters  returned  as  mysteri 
ously  as  he  had  disappeared.  His  daughter  was 
greatly  rejoiced  to  see  him  arid,  after  the  joy  of  the 
first  greeting  was  over,  told  of  all  that  was  tran 
spiring  and  of  the  threats  of  Mr.  Parris. 

"You  must  go  away,"  he  said. 

"When?"  she  asked. 

"On  the  morrow." 

Charles  had  a  short  talk  with  Mr.  Waters,  and 
arrangements  were  made  for  the  departure  of  Cora 
on  the  morrow.  Mr.  Waters  retired  late  that 
night  to  his  room.  As  he  was  in  the  act  of  un 
dressing,  he  became  conscious  that  a  face  was 
pressed  against  the  window.  He  stood  in  the  dark 
corner  where  he  could  scarce  be  seen.  He  held  a 
pistol  in  his  hand  until  the  face  disappeared  from 
the  window,  and  creeping  to  it,  looked  out. 
There  stood  a  man  in  the  broad  glare  of  the  moon. 
He  had  only  to  glance  at  his  tall  form  and  his 
ruffian  features  to  recognize  him  as  the  brother  of 
the  overseer  whom  he  had  shot  in  Virginia.  For 
ten  minutes  Mr.  Waters  did  not  move,  but  kept 
his  eyes  riveted  on  the  man,  who,  instinct  and 
reason  told  him,  was  an  enemy.  At  last  the  man 
retired  down  the  path  under  the  hill.  Mr.  Waters 
hurridly  wrote  a  few  lines  en  a  scrap  of  paper,  with 


CREDULITY  RUN  MAD.  255 

only  the  moon  for  his  caudle,  and,  folding  the  let 
ter,  addressed  it  to  his  daughter  and  laid  it  on  his 
pillow.  Then  he  opened  the  window  and  leaped 
out  to  the  ground. 

He  followed  the  man  under  the  hill,  where  he 
found  him  in  conversation  with  three  other  men, 
Mr.  Parris,  John  Ely  and  Louder.  He  was  near 
enough  to  hear  what  they  said  and  catch  their 
plans;  but  he  did  not  wait  to  listen.  As  he  was 
creeping  among  the  bushes,  a  man  suddenly  rose 
before  him.  His  dark,  tawny  skin,  his  blanket 
and  features  indicated  that  he  was  an  aborigine. 
He  had  seen  the  white  men  under  the  hill,  and  he 
told  Mr.  Waters  that  he  had  ten  braves  at  hand. 

"Tell  them  to  do  no  one  harm,  Oracus,"  said 
Mr.  Waters.  "I  have  never  harmed  mankind, 
save  in  defence,  and,  God  willing,  I  never  will. 
I  am  going  away." 

The  Indian  silently  bowed  and  disappeared  into 
the  forest.  Mr.  Waters  paused  under  a  large  oak 
tree  and  gazed  at  the  house  where  his  daughter 
was  sleeping  so  peacefully;  then  he  went  away  to 
the  great  north  woods. 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

THE    FATE   OF   GOODY   NURSE. 

Oh  !  lives  there.  Heaven,  beneath  thy  dread  expanse, 
One  hopeless,  dark  idolater  of  chance, 
Content  to  feed,  with  pleasures  unrefined 
The  lukewarm  passions  of  a  lowly  mind? 

— CAMPBELL. 

CHARLES  STEVENS  was  sleeping  soundly,  dream 
ing  of  Cora  and  peace,  when  there  came  a  rap  at 
the  outer  door.  He  rose  and,  but  half-dressed, 
proceeded  to  open  it.  Four  tall,  dark  men  stood 
without.  By  the  aid  of  the  moon,  he  recognized 
Mr.  Parris,  Bly  and  Louder. 

"Is  Mr.  Waters  here?"  asked  Mr.  Parris. 

"He  is  asleep  in  his  room,"  Charles  answered. 

"Awake  him.  This  good  man  from  Virginia 
wants  to  see  him." 

Charles  turned  away  and  went  to  Mr.  Waters' 
room.  The  door  was  ajar,  and,  entering,  he  found 
the  apartment  vacant.  An  open  window  showed 
by  what  means  Mr.  Waters  had  made  his  escape. 
Charles  hastened  to  inform  the  nocturnal  visitors, 
and  a  scene  ensued  that  can  be  as  well  imagined  as 
256 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  257 

described.  Charles  was  upbraided  for  aiding  a 
criminal  to  escape.  Mr.  Joel  Martin,  the  brother 
of  the  overseer  shot  in  Virginia,  was  enraged  that 
his  brother's  slayer  should,  after  years  of  search, 
be  discovered  only  to  escape  his  clutches,  while  Mr. 
Parris,  with  assumed  piety  declared: 

"It  is  ever  thus,  when  one  covenants  with  the 
devil.  An  actor  in  the  theatres  taken  to  the  home 
and  family  of  those  claiming  to  be  Christians. 
Verily,  I  am  not  surprised  that  he  is  also  a 
murderer.  When  one  lets  go  his  hold  on  the 
Lord,  there  can  be  no  crime  to  which  he  will  not 
descend." 

The  household  was  roused,  and  Cora  was  in 
formed  of  her  father's  narrow  escape.  Mr.  Martin 
from  Virginia  had  a  requisition  from  that  colony 
for  his  arrest.  She  wept,  but  said  not  a  word. 
When  the  disappointed  officers  went  away,  Charles 
sought  to  comfort  her;  but  she  answered: 

"  Cruel  fate  seems  to  have  doomed  me  to  misery, 
Charles.  Father  cannot  return ;  I  cannot  escape, 
and  I  feel  that  Mr.  Parris  is  drawing  a  net  about 
me,  which  will  entangle  my  feet." 

"Trust  in  God,  and  all  is  well!"  Charles  an 
swered.  Often,  in  their  darkest  hours,  her  pious 
father  had  offered  the  same  advice,  for  he  was  a 
firm  believer  in  divine  intervention  in  human 
affairs. 

17 


258  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Next  day  a  daughter  of  Goody  Nurse  came  to 
the  house,  weeping  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 

"What  is  the  matter,  Sarah?"  asked  Mrs. 
Stevens. 

"Mother  is  arrested!"  sobbed  the  young  woman. 

"Arrested!" 

"Yes." 

"For  what  charge?" .Charles  asked. 

"For  being  a  witch.  A  warrant  has  been  sworn 
out  against  her,  and  she  was  taken  away  this  morn 
ing."  Here  the  unfortunate  young  woman  broke 
down  and  sobbed  in  silence. 

"Where  was  she  taken?"  asked  Mrs.  Stevens. 

"To  jail  and  put  in  irons,  for  a  witch  must  be 
put  in  irons.  It  is  charged  that  she  hath  bewitched 
Abigail  Williams  and  the  other  children  of  Mr. 
Parris'  circle." 

Were  Mr.  Parris  a  creation  of  fiction  and  not  a 
real  character  of  history,  no  doubt  the  critic  would 
say  he  was  overdrawn;  but  Samuel  Parris  was  a 
living,  breathing  man,  or  a  fiend  in  human  form. 
He  had  a  large  following,  and  was  spoken  of  as 
our  beloved  pastor.  Mr.  George  Bancroft, 
America's  greatest  historian,  says:* 

"The  delusion,  but  for  Parris,  would  have  lan 
guished.  Of  his  own  niece,  the  girl  of  eleven 

•Bancroft's  "History  of  the  United  States",  vol.  ii.,  p. 
256. 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  259 

years  of  age,  he  demanded  the  names  of  the  devil's 
instruments,  who  bewitched  the  band  of  'the  af 
flicted,'  and  then  became  at  once  informer  and 
witness.  In  those  days,  there  was  no  prosecuting 
officer,  and  Parris  was  at  hand  to  question  his  In 
dian  servants  and  others,  himself  prompting  their 
answers  and  acting  as  recorder  to  the  magistrates. 
The  recollection  of  the  old  controversy  in  the 
parish  could  not  be  forgotten;  and  Parris,  moved 
by  personal  malice  as  well  as  blind  zeal,  'stifled 
the  accusation  of  some, 'such  is  the  testimony  of 
the  people  of  his  own  village,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  'vigilantly  promoting  the  accusation  of 
others,'  was  'the  beginning  and  procurer  of  the 
afflictions  of  Salem  village  and  country.'  Martha 
Corey,  who,  on  her  examination  in  the  meeting 
house,  before  a  throng,  with  a  firm  spirit,  alone, 
against  them  all,  denied  the  presence  of  witchcraft, 
was  committed  to  prison.  Rebecca  Nurse,  like 
wise  a  woman  of  purest  life,  an  object  of  special 
hatred  of  Parris,  resisted  the  company  of  accusers, 
and  was  committed.  And  Parris,  filling  his 
prayers  with  the  theme,  made  the  pulpit  ring  with 
it.  'Have  not  I  chosen  you  twelve,' — such  was 
his  text, — 'and  one  of  you  is  a  devil?'  At  this, 
Sarah  Cloyce,  sister  to  Rebecca  Nurse,  rose  up  and 
left  the  meeting-house,  and  she,  too,  was  cried  out 
upon  and  sent  to  prison." 


260  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Mrs.  Stevens,  her  son  and  Cora  Waters  tried  to 
soothe  the  fears  of  the  poor  young  maid,  who,  in 
her  hour  of  affliction,  childlike,  had  flown  to  her 
friends  with  her  tale  of  woe. 

"I  will  go  at  once  and  denounce  Mr.  Parris  for 
the  part  he  has  played  in  this!"  cried  Charles, 
starting  from  the  house.  At  the  little  gate,  he  was 
overtaken  by  Cora,  who,  laying  her  hand  on  his 
arm,  said: 

"Don't  go,  Charles.  Don't  leave  the  house 
while  in  this  heat  of  passion." 

"Cora,  I  cannot  endure  that  hypocrite  longer. 
He  is  a  devil,  not  a  man,  to  carry  his  malice  so 
far." 

"  But  reflect,  Charles.  What  you  might  say  in 
the  heat  of  your  anger  can  do  poor  Goody  Nurse 
no  good." 

"It  will  be  a  relief  to  me." 

.  "No;  it  may  engender  future  trouble.  This  is 
a  trying  hour;  the  danger  is  great;  let  us  take 
time  for  deliberation." 

He  was  persuaded  by  Cora  to  say. nothing  at 
that  time  and  returned  to  the  house.  To  the  sor 
rowing  daughter  had  been  administered  such  con 
solation  as  faithful,  loving  friends  could  offer,  and 
she  went  home  hoping  that  her  unfortunate  mother 
might  yet  escape  the  wrath  of  Mr.  Parris. 

"It  is  all  the  work  of 'Samuel  Parris,"  declared 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  261 

Mrs.  Stevens.  "  Because  Goody  Nurse  opposed 
his  ministry,  he  seeks  revenge." 

"Parris  is  an  unworthy  man,"  Charles  declared. 

Before  he  could  say  more,  Cora  Waters,  who 
had  posted  herself  as  a  sentry  at  the  door  said: 

"Here  comes  Ann  Putnam." 

At  mention  of  this  woman's  name,  both  Charles 
and  his  mother  became  silent.  She  was  the  mother 
of  one  of  the  afflicted  children,  and  was  herself  of 
high  nervous  temperament,  undisciplined  in  mind, 
and  an  absolute  devotee  to  her  pastor.  She  was 
at  this  time  about  thirty  years  of  age,  with  blue 
eyes,  brown  hair  and  face  fair  and  round.  As  she 
entered  the  door,  almost  out  of  breath,  she  cried: 

"  I  come,  Goody  Stevens,  to  be  the  bearer  of 
what  I  trust  will  be  welcome  tidings.  Goody 
Nurse  hath  been  arrested  and  sent  to  prison  for 
her  grievously  tormenting  the  family  of  Mr.  Parris 
and  myself." 

"Can  you  suspect  that  such  news  will  be  wel 
come  tidings  in  this  home?"  cried  Mrs.  Stevens. 
"  Ann  Putnam,  truly  you  must  believe  that  I  am 
unworthy  to  be  called  woman,  if  you  think  I  can 
rejoice  at  the  downfall  of  that  good  woman." 

"Good  woman!"  shrieked  Ann  Putnam,  stamp 
ing  her  foot  on  the  floor  with  such  force  as  to  make 
the  house  quiver.  "Good  woman!  She  is  a 
witch !  She  opposed  our  beloved  pastor  his  stipend ; 


262  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

she  wished  to  remove  him,  and  because  she  failed, 
she  now  assails  his  household  with  her  witchcraft. 
Oh,  vile  creature,  I  would  1  had  never  seen  her!" 

"Ann  Putnam,  you  are  deluded." 

"Deluded!"  shrieked  Ann  Putnam,  her  eyes 
flashing  with  fire.  "Could  you  all  but  see  me  in 
my  sore  afflictions,  could  you  but  know  the  fits  I 
have,  and  witness  the  suffering  of  her  victims,  you 
would  not  call  it  delusion." 

"Ann  Putnam,  Mr.  Parris  has  so  wrought  upon 
your  imagination,  that  you  are  insane." 

At  the  attempt  to  impute  anything  evil  to  her 
beloved  pastor,  Ann  Putnam's  rage  knew  no 
bounds,  and,  in  a  voice  choking  with  wrath,  she 
declared  that  Mr.  Parris  was  the  most  saintly  man 
living. 

"  His  zeal  for  the  cause  of  Christ  hath  brought 
down  upon  him  the  wrath  of  the  worldly  minded. 
He  is  a  saint — a  glorious  saint,  and  because  he  de 
nounced  Cora  Waters  for  being  the  child  of  a 
player,  you  would  malign  him." 

"Ann  Putnam,"  interrupted  Charles  Stevens, 
"  you  have  no  right  to  impugn  the  motives  of  my 
mother,  nor  to  assail  our  guest.  The  zeal  of  Mr. 
Parris  has  made  a  monster  of  him.  He  is  a 
wicked,  cruel,  revengeful  man,  rather  than  a  fol 
lower  of  the  meek  and  lo.wly  Lamb  of  God." 

"I  will    not  stay  where  my  blessed  pastor  is 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  263 

spoken  so  ill  of!"  declared  Ann  Putnam,  and  she 
bounded  out  of  the  door,  shaking  the  dust  off  her 
shoes.  At  the  gate,  she  paused  and  held  her  fist 
in  the  air,  and  at  the  height  of  her  masculine  voice 
screamed : 

"I  denounce  you!  I  cry  out  against  you, 
Hattie  Stevens!  I  will  to  do  no  more  with  you!" 
and  having  performed  that  wonderful  act  of  dis 
carding  a  former  friend,  she  turned  about  and  hur 
ried  over  the  hill. 

"  Charles,  I  am  sorry  you  and  your  mother  an 
gered  her,"  said  Cora. 

"Why,  Cora?"  he  asked. 

"She  can  do  us  ill." 

"  Ann  Putnam  is  an  evil  woman  and  a  fit  fol 
lower  of  such  a  man  as  Parris,"  declared  Charles. 
"My  mother  did  a  noble  act  in  denouncing  him." 

"  It  is  time,  Charles, "  interrupted  Cora.  "  I  feel, 
I  know  that  if  evil  befalls  you,  I  am  the  cause. 
I  must  go  away.  I  cannot  remain  here  to  prove 
the  ruin  of  those  who  befriended  me.  I  must  go 
away." 

"Where  would  you  go?" 

"I  know  not  where;  but  I  will  go  anywhere,  so 
that  I  may  not  prove  the  ruin  of  my  friends.  The 
wild  heathen  in  the  forest  could  not  be  more  cruel 
than  these  people." 

"  Cora,  you  shall  not  go!"  cried  Charles.     "  No, 


264  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

you  shall  not.  I  will  protect  you  and  mother. 
I  have  friends,  friends  true  and  strong,  friends  of 
whom  they  little  dream.  They  live  in  the  forest 
and  will  come  to  my  aid  by  the  hundreds  to  fight 
my  battles." 

"Do  you  mean  the  Indians?" 

"Yes.  Two  years  ago  I  saved  the  life  of  Ora- 
cus,  a  young  chief,  and  made  him  my  friend.  An 
Indian,  once  a  friend,  is  the  truest  of  friends. 
Oracus  and  his  warriors  would  die  for  me." 

"Do  not  appeal  to  the  Indians,  if  you  can  avoid 
it,"  the  girl  plead.  Charles  assured  her  if  she  did 
go  away,  it  would  not  remove  the  wrath  of  the 
minister  from  them,  and  she  decided  to  remain. 

Mr.  Parris  hated  Rebecca  Nurse  more  than  any 
other  person  in  Salem.  He  was  now  about  to  ac 
complish  his  designs. 

Until  the  day  of  trial,  Rebecca  Nurse  lay  in 
jail,  with  great,  heavy  fetters,  which  she  could 
scarcel}'  carry,  upon  her.  Her  husband,  family 
and  friends  did  all  in  their  power  to  procure  her 
release  on  bond;  but  witchcraft  was  not  a  bailable 
offence. 

They  tried  to  secure  mercy  for  the  old  woman 
from  Mr.  Parris;  but  he  was  inexorable.  When 
Mr.  Parris,  a  few  months  before,  was  publicly 
complaining  of  neglect  in  the  matter  of  firewood 
for  the  parsonage,  and  of  lukewarmness  on  the  part 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  265 

of  the  hearers  of  his  services,  "Landlord  Nurse" 
was  a  member  of  the  committee  who  had  to  deal 
with  him,  and  he  and  his  relatives  were  among 
the  majority,  who  were  longing  for  Mr.  Parris'  ap 
parently  inevitable  departure.  So  when,  through 
the  machinations  of  the  pastor,  the  good  woman 
was  arrested,  they  appealed  to  him  in  vain  for 
mercy. 

The  meeting-house,  in  which  the  trial  was  held, 
was  crowded  with  spectators.  Neighbor  jostled 
neighbor,  and  terrible,  awe-inspiring  whispers  ran 
over  the  throng.  Prayer  was  offered,  and  the 
court  opened,  and  Rebecca  Nurse,  weak  and  sick, 
old  and  infirm  as  she  was,  was  made  to  stand  up 
before  that  tribunal  to  plead  to  the  charge  of  witch 
craft.  When  her  son  would  have  supported  his 
aged  mother,  he  was  driven  away. 

Mr.  Parris  was  the  first  witness  called.  The  law 
of  evidence,  or  at  least  the  practice  in  Salem  at  that 
time,  was  quite  different  from  the  present.  Hear 
say  testimony  was  freely  admitted  in  the  case  of 
Goody  Nurse.  Mr.  Parris  stated  that  he  was 
called  to  see  a  certain  person  who  was  sick.  Mercy 
Lewis  was  sent  for.  She  was  struck  dumb  on  en 
tering  the  chamber.  She  was  asked  to  hold  up  her 
hand,  if  she  saw  any  of  the  witches  afflicting  the 
patient.  Presently  she  held  up  her  hand,  then 
fell  into  a  trance.  While  coming  to  herself,  she 


266  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

said  that  she  saw  the  spectres  of  Goody  Nurse  and 
Goody  Carrier  having  hold  of  the  head  of  the  sick 
man.  The  testimony  of  Mr.  Parris  was  given  in  a 
calm  and  deliberate  manner  calculated  to  impress 
the  juiy  with  truth.  Never  did  an  assassin  whet 
his  dagger  with  more  coolness  or  with  more  malice 
drive  it  to' the  heart  of  his  victim,  than  did  this 
sanctimonious  villain  weave  the  net  of  ruin  about 
his  victims. 

Thomas  Putnam,  the  husband  of  Ann  Putnam, 
stated  that  both  his  wife  and  child  were  bewitched 
and  had  most  grievous  fits,  all  of  which  they 
charged  to  Goody  Nurse.  He  described  his  wife 
as  being  sorely  attacked  and  striving  violently  with 
her  arms  and  legs,  and  presently  she  would  begin 
to  converse  with  Good- wife  Nurse,  saying: 

"Goody  Nurse,  begone!  begone!  begone!  Are 
you  not  ashamed,  a  woman  of  your  profession,  to 
afflict  a  poor  creature  so?  What  hurt  did  I  ever 
do  you  in  my  life?  You  have  but  two  years  to 
live,  and  then  the  devil  will  torment  your  soul,  for 
this  your  name  is  blotted  out  of  God's  book,  and 
it  shall  never  be  put  in  God's  book  again.  Be 
gone!  For  shame!  Are  you  not  afraid  of  what 
is  coming  upon  you?  I  know  what  will  make  you 
afraid,  the  wrath  of  an  angry  God.  I  am  sure  that 
will  make  you  afraid.  Begone!  Do  not  torment 
me.  I  know  what  you  would  have;  but  it  is  out 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  267 

of  your  reach;  it  is  clothed  with  the  white  robes  of 
Christ's  righteousness." 

After  this,  she  seemed  to  dispute  with  the  ap 
parition  about  a  particular  text  of  Scripture,  while 
she  kept  her  eyes  closed  all  the  time.  The  ap 
parition  seemed  to  deny  it,  and  she  said  she  was 
sure  there  was  such  a  text,  and  she  would  tell  it, 
and  then  the  shape  would  be'  gone.  Said  she: 

"I  am  sure  you  cannot  stand  before  that  text." 

Then  she  was  sorely  afflicted,  her  mouth  drawn 
on  one  side,  and  her  body  strained  for  about  a 
minute,  and  then  she  said: 

"I  will  tell.  I  will  tell,  it  is, — it  is, — it  is  the 
third  chapter  of  the  Revelations." 

Such  stuff  could  not  in  this  day  be  admitted  in 
any  intelligent  court  of  justice. 

Ann  Putnam,  the  wife  of  Thomas  Putnam,  was 
next  to  testify  against  Goody  Nurse.  She  said : 

"On  March  18th,  1692,  being  wearied  out  in 
helping  to  tend  my  poor  afflicted  child  and  maid, 
about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  I  lay  me  down 
on  the  bed  to  take  a  little  rest;  and  immediately  I 
was  almost  pressed  and  choked  to  death,  that,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  mercy  of  a  gracious  God  and 
the  help  of  those  that  were  with  me,  I  could  not 
have  lived  many  moments;  and  presently  I  saw 
the  apparition  of  Martha  Corey,  who  did  torture 
me  so,  as  I  cannot  express,  ready  to  tear  me  to 


268  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

pieces,  and  then  departed  from  me  a  little  while; 
but  before  I  could  recover  strength,  or  well  take 
breath,  the  apparition  of  Rebecca  Nurse  fell  upon 
me  again  with  dreadful  tortures  and  hellish  tempta 
tions  to  go  along  with  her,  and  she  brought  to  me 
a  little  red  book  in  her  hand,  and  a  black  pen, 
urging  me  vehemently  to  write  in  her  book;  and 
several  times  that  da^  she  did  most  grievously 
torture  me,  almost  ready  to  kill  me.  And  on  that 
same  day  Martha  Corey  and  Rebecca  Nurse,  the 
wife  of  Francis  Nurse  senior,  did  both  torture  me, 
with  tortures  such  as  no  tongue  can  express." 

"Did  you  suffer  from  Rebecca  Nurse  again?" 
the  witness  was  asked. 

"Yes." 

"When?" 

"  On  divers  times.  On  the  20th,  which  was  the 
Sabbath  day.  After  that,  she  came  and  sat  upon 
my  breast  and  did  sorely  torment  me  and  threaten 
to  bear  the  soul  out  of  my  body,  blasphemously 
denying  the  blessed  God,  and  the  power  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  save  my  soul,  and  denying 
several  passages  of  Scripture,  which  I  told  her  of, 
to  repel  her  hellish  temptations." 

The  afflicted  children  were  present,  and  when 
the  unfortunate  prisoner,  tired  and  sick,  bent  her 
head,  they  began  to  scream  and  bent  their  heads 
also.  When  she  gazed  at  Abigail  Williams,  the 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  269 

girl  was  seized  with  a  convulsion,  and  so  were  the 
others,  so  that  the  trial  had  to  be  suspended  for  a 
few  minutes,  until  quiet  was  restored. 

Charles  Stevens,  who  was  present,  remarked, 
loud  enough  to  be  heard: 

"  If  they  had  a  stick  well  laid  about  their  backs, 
I  trow  it  would  cure  them  of  such  devil's  capers." 

"Have  a  care,  Charles.  Take  heed  of  your 
hasty  speech,"  said  a  by-stander. 

Mrs.  Putnam,  fearful  that  her  first  deposition 
would  not  convict  the  woman,  who  had  dared  speak 
boldly  against  her  beloved  pastor,  again  took  the 
stand  and  testified: 

"Once,  when  Rebecca  Nurse's  apparition  ap 
peared  unto  me,  she  declared  that  she  had  killed 
Benjamin  Houlton,  John  Friller,  and  Rebecca  Shep 
herd,  and  that  she  and  her  sister  Cloyse,  and  Ed 
ward  Bishop's  wife,  had  killed  John  Putnam's 
child.  Immediately  there  did  appear  to  me  six 
children  in  winding-sheets,  which  called  me  aunt, 
which  did  most  grievously  affright  me;  and  they 
told  me  they  were  my  sister  Baker's  children  of 
Boston,  and  that  Goody  Nurse,  Mistress  Corey  of 
Charlestown  and  an  old  deaf  woman  at  Boston 
murdered  them,  and  charged  me  to  go  and  tell 
these  things  to  the  magistrates,  or  else  they  would 
tear  me  to  pieces,  for  their  blood  did  cry  for  venge 
ance.  Also  there  appeared  to  me  my  own  sister 


270  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Bajley  and  three  of  her  children  in  winding-sheets, 
and  told  me  that  Goody  Nurse  had  murdered 
them." 

This  evidence  was  followed  by  the  afflicted  chil 
dren  bearing  testimony  to  being  grievously  tor 
mented  by  defendant,  who  came  sometimes  in  the 
shape  of  a  black  cat,  a  dog,  or  a  pig,  and  who  was 
sometimes  accompanied  by  a  black  man.  Louder 
next  related  his  experience  of  being  changed  to  a 
horse  and  ridden  to  a  witches1  ball,  and  of  seeing 
Kebecca  Nurse  ride  through  the  air  on  a  broom 
stick.  The  West  Indian  negro  man  John,  the 
husband  of  Tituba  and  servant  of  Mr.  Parris,  was 
next  put  on  the  witness  stand.  The  magistrate 
asked  him: 

"John,  who  hurt  you?" 

"Goody  Nurse  first,  and  den  Goody  Corey." 

"What  did  she  do  to  you?" 

"She  brought  de  book  to  me." 

"John,  tell  the  truth.  Who  hurt  you?  Have 
you  been  hurt?" 

"The  first  was  a  gentleman  I  saw." 

"But  who  hurt  you  next?" 

"Goody  Nurse.  She  choke  me  and  brought 
me  de  book." 

"Where  did  she  take  hold  of  you?" 

"Upon  my  throat,  to  stop  my  breath." 

"What  did  this  Goody  Nurse  do?" 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  271 

"She  pinch  me  until  de  blood  came." 

At  this,  Ann  Putnam  had  a  fit  and  was  carried 
out.  Abigail  Williams  was  called  to  the  stand  and 
asked : 

"  Abigail  Williams,  did  you  see  a  company  at 
Mr.  Parris'  house  eat  and  drink?" 

"  Yes  sir;  that  was  their  sacrament." 

"How  many  were  there?" 

"About  forty.  Goody  Cloyse  and  Goody  Good 
were  their  deacons." 

"What  was  it?" 

"  They  said  it  was  our  blood,  and  they  had  it 
twice  that  day." 

"Have  you  seen  a  white  man?" 

"Yes  sir,  a  great  many  times." 

"What  sort  of  a  man  was  he?" 

"A  tine,  grave  man,  and  when  he  came,  he  made 
all  the  witches  to  tremble." 

"  Did  you  see  the  party  of  witches  at  Deacon 
Ingersol's?" 

"I  did." 

"Who  was  there?" 

"Goody  Cloyse,  Goody  Corey,  Goody  Nurse 
and  Goody  Good." 

Then  the  examining  magistrate  turned  to  the 
old,  infirm  and  unfortunate  prisoner,  and  asked: 

"What  do  you  say,  Goody  Nurse,  to  these 
things?" 


272  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

The  old,  sick  woman,  summoning  up  all  her 
energies,  answered: 

"I  take  God  to  be  my  witness,  that  I  know 
nothing  of  it,  no  more  than  the  child  unborn." 

The  jury  did  not  consider  the  evidence  strong 
enough  for  hanging  an  old  lady,  who  had  been  the 
ornament  of  their  church  and  the  glory  of  their 
village  and  its  society,  and  they  brought  in  a 
verdict  of  "not  guilty." 

The  momentary  rejoicing  of  the  triumphant  de 
fendants  was  drowned  by  the  howls  of  the  afflicted 
and  the  upbraiding  of  Mr.  Parris.  One  judge  de 
clared  himself  dissatisfied;  another  promised  to 
have  her  tried  anew;  and  the  chief  justice  pointed 
out  a  phrase  used  by  the  prisoner,  which  might  be 
made  to  signify  that  she  was  one  of  the  accused 
gang  in  guilt,  as  well  as  in  jeopardy.  It  might 
really  seem  as  if  the  authorities  were  all  scheming 
together,  when  we  see  the  ingenuity  and  persist 
ence  with  which  they  discussed  the  three  words 
"of  our  company,"  as  used  by  the  accused. 

The  poor  old  woman  offered  an  explanation, 
which  ought  to  have  been  satisfactory. 

"I  intended  no  otherwise  than  as  they  were 
prisoners  with  us,  and  therefore  did  then,  and  yet 
do  judge  them  not  legal  evidence  against  their 
fellow-prisoners.  And  I,  being  something  hard  of 
hearing  and  full  of  grief,-  none  informing  me  how 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  273 

the  court  took  up  my  words,  therefore  had  no  op 
portunity  to  declare  what  I  intended  when  I  said 
they  were  of  our  company." 

The  foreman  of  the  jury  would  have  taken  a 
favorable  view  of  this  matter,  and  have  allowed 
full  consideration,  while  other  jurymen  were  eager 
to  recall  the  mistake  of  the  verdict;  but  the  pris 
oner's  silence  from  failing  to  hear,  when  she  was 
expected  to  explain,  turned  the  foreman  against 
her,  and  caused  him  to  declare: 

"Whereupon  these  words  were  to  me  a  principal 
evidence  against  her." 

Still  it  was  too  monstrous  to  hang  the  poor  old 
woman.  After  her  condemnation,  the  governor 
reprieved  her,  probably  on  the  ground  of  the  ille 
gality  of  setting  aside  the  first  verdict  of  the  jury, 
in  the  absence  of  any  new  evidence;  but  Mr. 
Parris,  the  power  behind  the  people,  caused  such 
an  outcry  against  executive  clemency  to  be  raised, 
that  the  governor  withdrew  his  reprieve. 

Next  Sunday  after  the  sentence,  there  was  a 
scene  in  the  church,  the  record  of  which  was  after 
ward  annotated  by  the  church  members  in  grief 
and  humiliation.  After  the  sacrament,  by  a  vote, 
it  was  unanimously  agreed,  that  sister  Nurse,  being 
convicted  as  a  witch  by  the  court,  should  be  ex 
communicated  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day. 

Charles  Stevens,  impelled  by  a  morbid  curiosity, 
18 


274  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

went  to  the  church  that  afternoon.  The  place  was 
thronged.  Parris,  with  the  triumphant  gleam  of  a 
devil  on  his  hypocritical  features,  was  in  the  pulpit 
with  the  elders.  The  deacons  presided  below. 
The  sheriff  and  his  officers  brought  in  the  witch 
and  led  her  up  the  broad  aisle,  her  chains  clanking 
as  she  stepped,  and  her  poor  old  limbs  scarcely  able 
to  bear  their  weight.  As  she  stood  in  the  middle  of 
the  aisle,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Noyes  pronounced  her 
sentence  of  expulsion  from  the  church  on  earth 
and  from  all  hope  of  salvation  hereafter.  Having 
freely  given  her  soul  to  Satan  by  a  seven  years' 
service  for  diabolical  powers,  she  was  delivered 
over  to  him  forever.  In  conclusion,  Reverend  Mr. 
Noyes  said: 

"And  now,  vile  woman,  having  sold  yourself  to 
the  Devil,  go  to  your  master  amid  the  hottest 
flames  of  hell!" 

She  was  aware  that  every  eye  regarded  her  with 
horror  and  hate,  unapproached  under  any  circum 
stances;  but  she  was  able  to  sustain  it.  She  was 
still  calm  and  at  peace  that  day,  and  during  the 
fortnight  of  final  waiting.  When  the  fatal  day  of 
execution  came,  she  traversed  the  streets  of  Salem, 
between  the  houses  in  which  she  had  been  an  hon 
ored  guest,  and  surrounded  by  well-known  faces, 
and  then  there  was  the  hard,  hard  task,  for  her 
aged  limbsj  of  climbing  -the  rocky  and  steep  path 


THE   SHERIFF  BROUGHT   THE   WITCH   UP  THE   BROAD   AISLE,  HER   CHAINS 
CLANKING   AS   SHE   STEPPED. 


THE  FATE  OF  GOODY  NURSE.  275 

on  Witches1  Hill  to  the  place  where  the  gibbets 
stood  in  a  row,  and  the  hangman  was  waiting  for 
her.  Sarah  Good  and  six  others  of  whom  Salem 
chose  to  be  rid  that  day  went  with  her. 

It  was  the  19th  of  July,  1692,  when,  at  a  signal, 
all  eight  swung  off  into  eternity,  and  Reverend  Mr. 
Noyes,  in  his  zeal,  pointing  to  the  swaying  bodies, 
said : 

"There  hang  eight  fire-brands  of  hell!" 

Mr.  Parris,  unable  to  conceal  his  triumph,  de 
clared  these  the  most  holy  words  ever  uttered  by 
lips  not  divine. 

The  bodies  were  put  away  on  the  hill  like  so 
many  dead  dogs;  but  during  the  silent  watches  of 
the  night,  Charles  Stevens  and  the  sons  and  grand 
sons  of  Rebecca  Nurse  disinterred  her  and  brought 
her  remains  home  where  a  coffin  had  been  prepared. 
Mrs.  Stevens  and  Cora  Waters  dressed  the  body  in 
most  becoming  robes.  All  kissed  the  cold  dead 
face  of  one  they  loved,  as  she  lay  in  a  rear  room, 
the  windows  blinded  and  a  guard  outside.  Then 
the  body  was  hurriedly  buried  in  a  grave  prepared 
in  the  field,  where  soon  after  the  afflicted  husband 
slept  at  her  side. 

Considering  such  horrible  events,  one  can  but 
conclude  that  superstition  was  having  full  sway. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

"YOUR   MOTHER   A   WITCH." 

Tis  a  bleak  wild,  but  green  and  bright 
In  the  summer  warmth  and  the  mid-day  light, 
There's  the  hum  of  the  bee  and  the  chirp  of  the  wren, 
And  the  dash  of  the  brook  from  the  older  glen. 
There's  the  sound  of  the  bell  from  the  scattered  flock, 
And  the  shade  of  the  beach  lies  cool  on  the  rock, 
And  fresh  from  the  west  is  the  free-wind's  breath. 
There  is  nothing  here  that  speaks  of  death. 

— BRYANT. 

SHORTLY  after  the  arrest  and  incarceration  of 
Goodwife  Nurse,  Reverend  Deodat  Lawson,  an 
eminent  Boston  divine,  came  to  Salem  village. 
All  land  travel  at  that  time  was  on  horse-back. 
He  lodged  at  the  house  of  Nathaniel  Ingersol 
near  the  home  of  the  minister  Mr.  Parris.  The 
appearance  of  a  foreigner  in  the  village  was  at 
once  the  signal  for  making  a  new  convert,  and  the 
afflicted  put  themselves  on  exhibition  to  convince 
him  that  evil  spirits  were  abroad.  He  had  been 
but  a  short  time  at  the  house  of  Ingersol,  when 
Captain  Walcut's  daughter  Mary  came  to  see  him 
276 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  277 

and  speak  with  him.  She  greeted  him  with  a 
smile,  and  hoped  he  had  had  a  pleasant  journey. 

It  was  now  growing  late,  and  she  stood  in  the 
door  bidding  all  good-evening,  preparatory  to  going 
home.  Suddenly  the  girl  gave  utterance  to  a  wild 
shriek  and  leaped  into  the  house,  holding  her  wrist 
in  her  left  hand. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  asked  Mr.  Lawson. 

"I  am  bitten  on  the  wrist,"  she  cried. 

"Surely  you  cannot  be  bitten,  for  I  have  seen 
nothing  to  bite  you." 

"  Nevertheless,  I  am  bitten.  It  is  a  witch  that 
hath  bitten  me." 

The  candle  had  been  burning  all  the  while  in 
the  apartment,  and  Mr.  Lawson  knew  that  no  one 
could  have  been  in  the  room  without  his  knowledge. 

"  Some  one  hath  grievously  bitten  me!"  the  girl 
sobbed. 

Mr.  Lawson  seized  the  candle  and,  holding  it  to 
her  wrist,  saw  apparently  the  marks  of  teeth,  both 
upper  and  lower  set,  on  each  side  of  her  wrist. 
He  was  lost  in  wonder  and,  placing  the  candle  on 
the  mantel,  remarked: 

"It  is  a  mystery." 

"Yea,  verily  it  is,"  Lieutenant  Ingersol  an 
swered;  "but  you  have  not  seen  the  beginning  of 
the  wonders  of  witchcraft  in  this  village.  Satan 
surely  hath  been  loosed  for  a  little  season." 


278  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"  I  have  heard  much  of  the  sore  afflictions  of  the 
children  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Parris,"  remarked 
Mr.  Lawson. 

"  And  they  are  sorely  afflicted,  as  I  can  bear 
testimony.  After  tea  we  will  walk  over  to  his 
house." 

Mr.  Lawson  assented,  and  Mary  Walcut  was 
sent  home.  After  an  early  tea,  Mr.  Lawson  went 
to  the  parsonage,  which  was  but  a  short  distance. 
Mr.  Parris  met  them  at  the  door.  His  white, 
cadaverous  face,  prominent  cheek  bones,  aquiline 
nose,  piercing  eyes,  and  wild,  disheveled  hair  giv 
ing  him  a  strange,  weird  appearance.  He  greeted 
Reverend  Mr.  Lawson  warmly  and  thanked  him 
for  coming  all  the  way  from  Boston  to  preach  for 
him  next  Lord's  Day. 

"  I  am  so  sorely  tried  with  my  many  afflictions, 
that  I  cannot  compose  my  mind  for  sermonizing." 

"  I  have  heard  somewhat  of  the  afflictions  and 
troubles  that  beset  you,"  Rev.  Deodat  Lawson  an 
swered. 

"  Verily  you  cannot  have  heard  more  than  has 
occurred.  I  am  maligned,  misunderstood  and 
beset  everywhere  by  the  enemies  of  God." 

"Meet  it  with  prayer  and  humiliation,"  answered 
Mr.  Lawson. 

"I  do — I  do — and,  verily,  the  Lord  is  making 
my  enemies  my  footstool.  Many  are  already  in 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  279 

prison,  and  many  more  will  yet  go  to  the  gallows." 
The  pastor  gnashed  his  teeth  in  silent  rage,  while 
his  eyes  gleamed  with  hate. 

"How  are  the  afflicted  children?"  asked  Mr. 
Lawson. 

"No  better.      Abigail  come  hither." 

Abigail  ^illiams,  the  niece  of  the  pastor,  came 
from  an  adjoining  room.  She  was  a  girl  of  twelve, 
with  a  fair  face,  but  cunning  eyes,  which  deprived 
her  of  the  innocence  of  childhood.  Mr.  Lawson 
at  once  entered  into  conversation  with  her,  but  had 
not  proceeded  far,  when  she  uttered  a  shriek  and, 
turning  her  face  to  the  ceiling,  whirled  about  in  a 
circle,  while  her  eyes,  rolling  back  in  her  head, 
snapped  like  flashes  of  light.  Her  mouth  was 
drawn  to  the  left  side  of  her  face  and  her  whole 
frame  convulsively  jerked  till  she  fell  to  the  floor, 
where  she  writhed  and  struggled,  and  blood-stained 
froth  issued  from  her  mouth,  while  Mr.  Lawson 
gazed  upon  her  appalled.  Then  she  sprang  to  her 
feet  and  hurried  violently  to  and  fro  through  the 
room  in  spite  of  the  efforts  to  hold  her.  Some 
times  she  made  motions  as  if  she  would  fly,  reach 
ing  her  arms  up  as  high  as  she  could,  and  bringing 
them  down  at  her  side,  crying: 

"Whish!  whish!  whish!" 

Presently  she  began  talking  in  a  strange,  hyster 
ical  and  half  inaudible  manner. 


280  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"There  is  Goodwife  Nurse!"  she  cried.  "Do 
you  not  see  her?  Why,  there  she  stands!"  and 
the  girl  pointed  to  a  corner  of  the  room  that  was 
vacant.  Her  eyes  seemed  riveted  on  some  object 
that  kept  moving  about.  After  a  short  silence, 
Abigail  Williams  said: 

"There,  she  is  offering  me  the  book  to  sign; 
but  I  won't  take  it,  Goody  Nurse!  I  won't!  I 
won't!  I  won't  take  it!  I  do  not  know  what  book 
it  is.  I  am  sure  it  is  not  God's  book.  It  is  the 
Devil's  book,  for  aught  I  know." 

Then  she  remained  a  moment  with  her  eyes 
closed  and  arms  folded  across  her  breast,  after 
which  she  ran  to  the  fire,  and  began  to  throw  fire 
brands  about  the  house,  and  run  into  the  fireplace, 
against  the  back  of  the  wall,  as  if  she  would  go  up 
the  chimney.  They  caught  hold  of  her  and  pulled 
her  out. 

"  It  is  nothing  uncommon,"  Mr.  Parris  explained. 
"  In  other  fits,  the  children  have  sought  to  throw 
themselves  into  the  fire." 

Mr.  Lawson  did  not  tarry  long  at  the  house  of 
the  pastor;  but  returned  to  the  home  of  Lieut. 
Ingersol. 

When  Sunday  came,  Mr.  Lawson  went  to  the 
church  to  preach.  Several  of  the  afflicted  people 
were  "at  meeting,"  for  it  was  thought  proper  that 
the  afflicted  should  be  in  the  house  of  God.  So 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  281 

long  as  one  was  able  to  go  to  church,  they  were 
taken,  regardless  of  any  mental  affection  they 
might  have.  Mrs.  Pope,  Goodwife  Bibber,  Abigail 
Williams,  Mary  Walcut,  Mary  Lewes  and  Doctor 
Grigg's  maid,  all  of  whom  were  persons  bewitched, 
are  reported  by  reliable  historians  as  being  present 
at  this  "Lord's  Day  service."  There  was  also 
present  Goodwife  Corey,  who  was  subsequently 
arrested  for  a  witch. 

While  at  prayer,  Mr.  Lawson  was  interrupted 
by  shrieks  and  struggles  on  the  part  of  the  af 
flicted,  and  a  voice  near  said: 

"Fits!" 

He  kept  on  praying  for  the  Lord  to  relieve  them 
of  their  torments,  while  Charles  Stevens,  who  was 
in  the  house,  declared  that  a  whip  would  relieve 
them.  After  the  prayer,  a  psalm  was  sung,  as 
usual,  and  then  Abigail  Williams,  turning  to  the 
preacher,  said  in  a  loud,  coarse  voice: 

"Now  stand  up  and  name  your  text!" 

After  he  had  named  his  text,  she  said: 

"It  is  a  long  text." 

He  had  scarcely  begun  his  sermon,  when  Mrs. 
Pope,  one  of  the  afflicted  women,  bawled  out: 

"Now,  there  is  enough  of  that." 

"These  mad  people  ought  to  be  kept  away  from 
the  house  of  worship,"  declared  Charles  Stevens 
to  a  neighbor. 


382  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Rev.  Mr.  Lawson,  unaccustomed  to  these  inter 
ruptions,  was  greatly  annoyed  and  had  to  pause 
frequently  in  his  sermon.  Good  wife  Corey  was 
present  at  the  time,  and  Abigail  Williams,  in  the 
midst  of  the  sermon,  cried  out: 

"  Look !  look,  where  Good  wife  Corey  sits  on  the 
beam,  suckling  her  yellow  bird  betwixt  her  fin 
gers!" 

At  this,  Ann  Putnam,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Putnam,  said: 

"There  is  a  yellow  bird  sitting  on  Mr.  Lawson's 
hat,  where  it  hangs  on  the  pin  in  the  pulpit. " 

Those  who  sat  nearest  the  girls  tried  to  restrain 
them  from  speaking  aloud;  but  it  was  in  vain; 
for,  despite  all  precaution,  they  would  occasionally 
blurt  out  some  ridiculous  nonsense,  which  the 
people  attributed  to  the  results  of  witchcraft. 

"Charles  Stevens,  what  say  you,  now  that  your 
eyes  have  witnessed  these  abominations?"  said 
John  Ely. 

"I  say,  if  I  had  my  way,  I  would  cure  them," 
answered  the  youth. 

"How  would  you,  pray?"  Ely  asked. 

"With  a  good  whip  about  their  shoulders." 

"Beware,  Charles  Stevens,  how  you  speak  so 
lightly  of  these  afflictions,  lest  you  bring  on  your 
self  the  same  condemnation  of  those  on  Witches' 
Hill." 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  283 

There  are  some  spirits  so  bold,  that  they  over 
awe  and  intimidate  even  an  enraged  populace. 
Martin  Luther's  very  audacity  saved  him,  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  and  something  like  the  same 
spirit  enabled  Charles  Stevens  to  overcome  or  over 
awe  the  deluded  populace  of  Salem. 

A  few  days  after  the  execution  of  Goody  Nurse, 
he  was  passing  the  meeting  house,  when  he  was 
accosted  b}'  the  West  Indian  negro,  John. 

"  You  not  believe  in  witches?"  said  John. 

"No." 

"Goody  Nurse  brought  me  de  book." 

"John,  I  believe  you  lied.  I  believe  you  have 
perjured  yourself  and  sent  your  soul  to  endless 
torment,"  answered  Charles  Stevens.  John  was  a 
cunning  rascal  and  thought  to  give  him  a  proof 
positive  of  the  powers  of  witchcraft.  lie  fell 
down  in  a  fit,  and  Charles  applied  his  cane  to  him 
until  he  ran  howling  away  effectually  cured,  while 
Charles,  disgusted  with  the  black-skinned  African, 
left  him  and  hurried  out  of  the  village. 

Charles  Stevens'  favorite  walk  was  across  the 
brook  and  among  the  great  old  oak  trees  beyond. 
His  mind  was  greatly  harassed  and,  like  all  great 
minds  when  perplexed,  sought  solitude.  He  went 
farther  and  farther  into  the  woods  and  sat  down 
upon  a  large  stone.  The  recent  trial  of  Goody 
Nurse,  her  conviction  and  execution  moved  his 


284  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

soul.  He  could  not  understand  how  people,  civil 
ized  and  enlightened,  could  be  so  deceived  by 
what,  to  him,  was  so  apparent. 

Charles  knew  that  all  were  not  dishonest  in  their 
belief.  He  even  believed  that  some  of  the  actors 
in  this  tragedy  were  sincere,  but  had  been  over- 
persuaded  by  Mr.  Parris,  whom  he  set  down  as  the 
prime  mover  in  it  all. 

He  sat  for  a  long  time,  much  longer  than  he 
supposed,  reflecting  on  the  past,  and  planning  for 
the  future,  when  he  was  startled  by  hearing  foot 
steps  coming  toward  him.  He  raised  his  head, 
and  saw  a  young  Indian  brave,  with  his  blanket 
wrapped  about  his  shoulders,  carrying  a  bow  in 
his  hand.  His  head  was  ornamented  with  a  bunch 
of  feathers,  and  his  face  was  painted  with  all  the 
gorgeous  hues  of  savage  barbaric  art.  He  recog 
nized  Charles  Stevens,  for,  advancing  toward  him 
with  a  smile,  he  extended  his  hand  saying: 

"My  white  brother  is  not  happy.  What  has 
made  him  sad?" 

The  Indian  was  a  good  judge  of  human  charac 
ter,  and  in  the  face  of  the  young  white  man  he 
read  a  look  of  sorrow. 

"  The  white  men  of  Salem  are  very  wicked, 
Oracus,"  said  Charles.  "Not  only  are  they 
wicked  to  their  red  brothers,  but  to  their  white 
brothers,  as  well.  They  have  taken  the  old  and 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  285 

helpless,  tlie  weak  and  forlorn,  and  put  them  to 
death." 

The  young  savage  folded  his  arms  across  his 
massive  chest  and  stood  for  a  long  time  in  silence. 
His  eyes  were  upon  the  ground,  and  his  stolid 
features  were  without  show  of  emotion.  His  people 
had  suffered  wrongs  at  the  hands  of  the  white  men; 
but  in  this  one  he  had  ever  found  an  earnest,  true 
friend. 

There  existed  between  Charles  and  the  brave  a 
bond  of  brotherhood  as  enduring  as  life.  The 
young  chief  inquired  what  had  been  done  at  the 
village,  and  Charles  proceeded  to  tell  him  all,  in 
as  few  words  as  possible,  of  the  arrest,  trial  and 
execution  of  Goody  Nurse  and  others.  When  he 
had  completed  the  terrible  story,  the  young  chief 
drew  his  blanket  about  his  shoulders  and  said: 

"  I  am  your  friend,  and  if  your  white  brothers 
prove  false,  remember  your  red  brother  will  be 
true." 

"I  believe  you,  Oracus." 

"  I  have  shown  one  white  brother  through  the 
paths,  away  from  his  enemies,  and  you  will  always 
find  Oracus  in  his  forest  home  ready  to  befriend 
you." 

"  The  time  may  corne  when  I  will  need  your 
aid,"  said  Charles  Stevens. 

After  a  long  interview,  he  rose  and  started  home. 


286  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

He  was  near  the  great  bridge  which  spanned  the 
brook,  when  he  suddenly  came  upon  a  tall,  power 
ful  man,  whose  sallow  face  and  cavalier-like  man 
ner  showed  him  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  southern 
colonies.  Charles  instantly  recognized  him  as  Mr. 
Joel  Martin,  the  man  whom  he  had  seen  on  that 
night  with  Mr.  Parris,  Bly  and  Louder,  coming  to 
arrest  Cora's  father. 

"You  are  Charles  Stevens?"  the  Virginian  said, 
halting  before  the  youth. 

"  I  have  no  desire  to  deny  my  name,  for  it  is 
that  of  an  honest  man;  I  am  Charles  Stevens,"  he 
answered. 

"Do  you  know  who  I  am?" 

"  I  suspect  you  are  one  whom  I  saw  at  my  house, 
though  your  name  I  have  not  learned." 

"I  am  Joel  Martin,  and  by  profession  an  over 
seer  on  a  Virginia  plantation.  There  were  but  two 
of  us,  my  brother  and  I.  He  was  an  overseer  of 
an  adjoining  plantation,  when  one  day  a  slave 
escaped.  He  pursued  him  and  was  slain." 

"I  have  heard  the  story,"  interrupted  Charles. 

"You  have?  and  from  his  own  lips?" 

"I  have;  and  I  do  not  blame  the  man  who  was 
seeking  liberty.  He  was  a  white  man,  as  you  your 
self  are.  He  had  committed  no  crime,  save  that  he 
was  arrested  as  one  of  Monmouth's  insurgents  and 
had  been  captured  while  in  the  ranks  of  the  rebel." 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  287 

Martin's  eyes  flashed  with  fury  and,  in  a  voice 
that  was  hoarse,  he  whispered: 

"You  aided  him  to  escape;  but  it  shall  not 
avail.  I  have  for  years  followed  on  his  trail,  and 
I  will  not  let  go  my  hold  on  him,  until  I  have 
dragged  him  to  the  scaffold.  No;  the  blood  of 
my  brother  cries  out  for  vengeance,  and  I  will  fol 
low  him  day  and  night  through  the  trackless  for 
ests,  until  I  have  brought  the  renegade  to  justice. 
He  cannot  conceal  himself  so  deep  in  the  forest, 
he  cannot  hide  himself  among  the  savage  tribes, 
nor  burrow  so  deep  in  the  earth,  but  that  J  will 
find  him." 

Charles  Stevens  turned  away  and  was  walking 
toward  home,  when  the  tall  Virginian,  by  a  few 
quick  strides,  overtook  him  and,  laying  his  hand 
on  his  shoulder,  said: 

"You  do  not  care  to  hear  these  threats;  but  I 
have  not  done  with  you  yet.  Listen ;  I  want  to 
say  more.  If  you  seek  to  thwart  me,  I  will  kill 
you.  Do  you  hear?" 

"I  have  no  fear  of  you,  Mr.  Martin,"  cried 
Charles  Stevens,  turning  on  the  tall,  swarthy  south 
erner  a  glance  which  made  him  quail.  "Your 
profession  is  brutality.  You  are  a  stranger  to 
mercy;  yet  I  will  defy  you.  I  fear  you  not,  and, 
if  you  seek  my  life,  you  had  better  take  heed  for 
your  own." 


288  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Charles  boldly  walked  away,  leaving  the  dis 
comfited  Virginian  to  fume  and  rage  alone.  The 
shades  of  night  were  falling  fast  over  the  village  of 
Salem,  as  Charles  hurried  homeward,  and  he  was 
amazed  as  he  came  in  sight  of  the  house,  to  see  a 
great  throng  of  people  going  away  from  the  door. 
The  young  man  quickened  his  pace,  hardly  know 
ing  whether  he  was  asleep  or  awake.  A  negro 
slave  came  running  toward  him  crying: 

"Massa!  Massa!   Massa!" 

"What  has  happened?"  asked  Charles. 

"Um  tuk  um  away!     Dey  tuk  um  off!" 

"Who?" 

"Yomudder." 

"My  mother!  Oh,  God!"  Charles  Stevens  ran 
swift  as  a  roe  buck  toward  the  crowd,  which  had 
now  almost  reached  the  jail. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  he  demanded  of  John 
Ely,  whom  he  met  near  the  jail. 

"Your  mother  is  a  witch,"  Bly  answered. 

"You  lie!"  cried  Charles,  and  with  one  swift, 
sure  blow,  he  laid  the  slanderer  senseless  at  his 
feet. 

"Hold,  Charles  Stevens!  Hold!  Be  not  rash, 
or  she  may  fare  worse,"  whispered  a  kind  voice  at 
his  side,  and,  turning,  he  saw  the  sad  face  of  John 
Nurse.  He  had  drunk  the  bitter  cup  to  its  dregs 
and  could  advise.  The  world  seemed  swimming 


"YOUR  MOTHER  A  WITCH."  289 

before  the  eyes  of  Charles  Stevens.  He  tried  to 
rush  to  that  throng,  whom  he  saw  dragging  both 
his  mother  and  Cora  Waters  to  the  jail;  but  in 
vain.  His  feet  refused  to  carry  him.  He  strove 
to  utter  an  outcry;  but  his  voice  failed,  and  all 
became  darkness. 
19 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

ESCAPE   AND   FLIGHT. 

Come,  rest  in  this  bosom,  my  own  stricken  deer, 
Though  the  herd  have  fled  from  thee,  thy  home  is  still  here  : 
Here  is  the  smile  that  no  cloud  can  o'ercast, 
And  a  heart  and  a  hand  all  thy  own  to  the  last. 

— MOORE. 

WHEN  Charles  Stevens  regained  consciousness, 
he  was  lying  on  a  bed,  and  kindly  faces  were  bend 
ing  over  him.  He  was  conscious  from  the  first  of 
an  oppressive  weight  of  trouble,  but  could  not 
realize  what  had  occurred.  As  one  awakening 
from  a  troubled  dream,  he  strove  to  gather  up  his 
scattered  faculties  and  recall  what  had  happened. 
Like  a  blast  of  doom,  the  awful  truth  burst  upon 
him,  and  he  leaped  to  his  feet.  He  was  at  the 
home  of  Landlord  Nurse,  and  the  pale,  sad,  horror- 
stricken  faces  about  him  were  the  old  gentleman 
and  his  sons  and  daughters.  They  caught  Charles 
before  he  reached  the  door. 

"My  mother!"  cried  the  young  man. 

"No;  you   can  do  her  no  good  by  an  act  of 
rashness!"  John  Nurse  answered. 
290 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  291 

"  Tell  me  all  about  it.  I  will  sit  here  and  listen 
to  it  all,"  said  Charles,  when  he  discovered  that 
he  could  not  break  away  from  his  friends. 

"  Your  mother  and  Cora  Waters  have  both  been 
cried  out  upon  as  witches,  warrants  were  issued, 
and  they  were  arrested.  Now  collect  your  faculties 
and  act  on  your  coolest  judgment.  Think  what 
you  will  do." 

Charles  Stevens  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands 
and  reflected  long  and  earnestly  on  the  course  to 
pursue.  He  recalled  the  words  of  Oracus,  the 
brave  young  chief,  who  could  muster  a  hundred 
warriors.  He  was  cunning  and  might  devise  some 
plan  of  escape,  and  Charles  was  not  long  in  resolv 
ing  what  to  do.  He  would  not  act  hurriedly.-  He 
would  be  desperate;  but  that  desperation  would 
have  coolness  and  premeditation  about  it. 

He  promised  his  friends  to  be  calm,  assuring 
them  he  would  be  guarded  in  his  speech,  and  then 
begun  seeking  an  interview  with  his  mother  and 
Cora.  It  was  three  days  before  the  interview  was 
granted.  He  found  them  occupying  loathsome 
cells,  each  chained  to  the  wall.  The  interview 
was  long,  and  just  what  such  an  interview  could 
be,  full  of  grief  and  despair.  Charles  tried  to 
hope.  He  tried  to  see  a  ray  of  sunlight;  but  the 
effort  only  revealed  the  swaying  forms  of  those 
hung  on  Witches'  Hill. 


292  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Even  if  he  summoned  Oracus  and  all  his  braves, 
.would  thej7  be  strong  enough  to  break  down  that 
door  of  iron,  or  cut  the  chains  asunder!  Charles, 
in  his  desperation,  resolved  to  rescue  the  beloved 
ones  or  die  in  the  effort.  He  went  away  weeping. 

He  did  not  return  home.  That  home  was  deso 
late,  lonely  and  so  like  the  tomb,  that  he  dared  not 
go  near  it.  At  the  home  of  his  kind  friend,  he 
wrote  to  relatives  at  New  Plymouth,  Boston,  New 
York,  Virginia  and  the  Carolinias.  To  all  he  ap 
pealed  for  help,  for  Charles  was  determined  to 
move  heaven  and  earth  or  rescue  his  mother  and 
Cora;  but  he  did  not  depend  on  those  distant  rela 
tives  and  friends  so  much  as  the  dusky  friends  in 
the  forest.  He  knew  that  before  answers  could 
come  to  his  letters,  he  would  be  dead,  or  would 
have  succeeded  in  his  efforts.  Even  if  he  should 
be  killed  in  an  abortive  attempt,  however,  he 
hoped  that  his  relatives  would  resume  the  warfare 
for  the  prisoners. 

"Where  is  Cora's  father?"  he  asked  himself. 
"Could  I  but  find  the  Waters  brothers,  I  would 
have  two  friends  and  allies  to  aid  me.  Oh, 
Heaven,  give  me  light!  Give  me  light!" 

Charles  Stevens,  like  all  true  Christians,  in  this 
dark  hour  went  to  God  for  aid.  Kneeling,  he 
prayed  as  he  had  never  prayed  before.  He  seemed 
to  take  hold  of  the  throne  of  grace  and,  with  a 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  293 

faith  strengthened  and  renewed,  drew  inspiration 
for  his  desperate  resolve  from  the  only  living  foun 
tain.  Armed  with  his  rifle  and  pistols,  he  left  the 
village  and  went  into  the  forest.  The  forest  in 
spires  man  with  reverence  and  love  for  God.  The 
giant  trees,  the  deep  glens,  the  moss  and  ferns  and 
cool  shades  seem  to  breathe  of  eternity.  Charles 
Stevens  had  always  loved  the  dark  old  woods,  and 
never  had  they  seemed  so  friendly  as  on  this  occa 
sion,  when  they  screened  him  from  the  frowns  of 
man. 

Solitude  offered  him  its  charms.  The  zephyrs 
sought  to  soothe  his  sorrows  by  their  gentle  whis 
pers,  and  the  birds  sang  for  the  peace  of  his  troub 
led  spirit,  while  the  babbling  brooks  strove  to 
make  him  gay;  but  who  can  be  gay  when  loved 
ones  are  menaced  with  a  terrible  danger?  Charles 
Stevens  saw  little  of  the  beauty  of  nature.  His 
eyes  were  searching  the  forests  for  dusky  forms, 
which  he  hoped  to  meet.  Those  dusky  sons  of  the 
forest  were  not  often  desirable  sights;  but  Charles 
was  as  anxious  to  see  the  feathers  and  painted 
faces  of  these  heathens,  as  if  they  were  brothers. 

He  spent  the  day  in  wandering  through  the 
woods,  forgetting  to  take  any  nourishment,  for  he 
had  brought  no  food  with  him,  and,  in  fact,  he 
had  not  thought  to  eat  since  the  arrest  of  his  mother 
and  Cora, 


294  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

He  was  weak  and  faint,  and  his  hands  trembled. 
He  was  not  hungry;  but  his  strength  was  giving 
way,  and  he  realized  that  he  had  been  foolish  not 
to  provide  himself  with  food. 

Evening  came,  and  he  sank  down  on  the  mossy 
banks  of  a  stream  and  took  a  few  draughts  of 
water  to  revive  him.  The  stars  came  out  one  by 
one. 

By  the  merest  chance,  he  raised  his  despairing 
eyes  and,  gazing  across  the  stream  to  the  woods 
beyond,  saw  a  light.  Charles  struggled  to  his 
feet  and  gazed  like  one  to  whom  life  has  suddenly 
been  restored. 

"Perhaps  it  is  Indians!" 

He  plunged  into  the  creek,  waded  across  and 
started  through  the  woods  toward  the  light.  It 
was  much  further  away  than  he  had  at  first  sup 
posed,  and  he  was  several  minutes  in  reaching  the 
camp  fire. 

Ten  dusky  sons  of  the  forest  were  seated  about 
the  camp  fire,  while  two  men  in  the  garb  of  civil 
ization  were  roving  about.  Charles  felt  some  mis 
givings  at  first  on  discovering  men  of  his  own  color 
in  the  camp.  He  crawled  from  tree  to  tree,  from 
log  to  bush,  until  he  was  near  enough  to  see  the 
features  of  the  men.  When  he  first  got  within 
sight  they  stood  with  their  backs  toward  him  and 
he  could  not  see  their  faces ;  but  at  last  one  turned 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  295 

about  so  that  the  glare  of  the  fire-light  fell  full  on 
his  face,  and,  with  a  cry  of  joy,  Charles  Stevens 
bounded  to  his  feet,. crying: 

"Mr.  Waters!  Mr.  Waters!"  and  dashed  toward 
the  camp. 

A  pair  of  strong  arms  encircled  his  waist,  and 
the  young  man  heard  a  voice  say: 

"White  man  go  too  soon!" 

He  had  been  seized  by  a  sentry;  but  Mr.  Waters 
and  Oracus  hastened  to  him,  and  he  was  released. 
The  other  white  man  was  the  brother  of  Mr. 
Waters,  and  Charles,  bewildered,  overjoyed,  yet 
faint  and  weak,  was  half  led  and  half  carried  to 
the  camp.  He  found  himself  making  hurried  ex 
planations,  while  a  savage  was  broiling  venison 
steaks  before  the  fire  for  him. 

"We  know  all,"  said  Mr.  George  Waters. 

"What!  do  you  know  they  have  been  cried  out 
upon?"  asked  Charles. 

"We  do." 

"Do  you  know  they  are  in  prison?" 

"We  have  heard  it  all,"  said  Mr.  Waters, 
calmly. 

"How  could  you  have  heard  it?"  asked  Charles. 

"We  have  faithful  friends,  who  inform  us  of 
everything. " 

"Were  you  going  to  take  action  for  their  res 
cue?"  asked  Charles. 


296  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"We  were  concerting  plans  when  you  came; 
but  you  must  have  food." 

Charles  Stevens  gazed  on  the  calm  face  of  the  man 
before  him,  and  could  but  wonder  at  his  coolness. 

"Mr.  Waters,  do  you  know  that  your  own 
daughter  is  one  of  the  accused?" 

"I  know  all." 

"How  can  you  be  so  calm,  knowing  all  as  you 
do?" 

"  I  am  calm  for  my  daughter's  sake.  The  only 
hope  of  liberating  her,  of  saving  her  life,  is  by 
cool,  deliberate  and  well  matured  plans." 

"Are  your  plans  formed?" 

"Yes." 

"  When  will  you  act?" 

"  On  to-morrow  night.  Oracus  will  have  all  his 
warriors  ready  by  that  time,  and  we  will  require 
crow-bars,  hammers  and  axes,  to  break  in  the  door 
of  the  jail.  Meanwhile,  if  you  expect  to  aid  us, 
you  will  have  to  take  some  refreshments,  food  and 
drink,  and  get  some  sleep.  You  don't  look  as  if 
you  had  slept  for  weeks." 

"I  scarcely  have." 

"Your  conduct  is  foolish.  If  you  love  your 
mother,  you  should  give  the  full  strength  of  body 
and  mind  to  her  rescue." 

Charles  ate  some  broiled  venison  and  went  to 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  297 

So  exhausted  was  he,  that  he  did  not  awake 
until  the  noise  of  breaking  camp  aroused  him. 

Another  white  man  was  in  camp.  His  hands 
were  fastened  behind  his  back  and  he  was  tied  to 
a  tree.  His  sallow  complexion  arid  angular  features 
were  familiar  to  Charles  Stevens.  The  prisoner 
was  Joel  Martin. 

"Two  of  the  Indians  captured  him  last  night," 
explained  George  Waters.  "He  was  prowling 
about  in  the  woods,  and  they  seized  him." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  him?"  Charles 
asked. 

"  We  will  do  him  no  hurt  unless  we  are  forced 
to,"  said  Mr.  Waters. 

"I  trust  you  will  not  be  forced,"  said  Charles 
Stevens. 

"So  I  pray;  yet  we  must  protect  ourselves  and 
those  whom  we  would  rescue." 

"I  see  that  many  more  Indians  are  in  camp  than 
were  here  yesterday." 

"Yes."" 

"Are  they  friends?" 

"  They  are  the  braves  of  Oracus,  and  will  follow 
where  he  leads." 

Charles  Stevens  passed  an  anxious  day.  A  part 
of  the  time  he  was  near  enough  to  Joel  Martin  to 
hear  him  muttering: 

"I    have    no  fear    of   George  Waters,    galley 


298  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

slave.  You  may  turn  me  over  to  your  heathen 
cut-throats;  yet  I  will  defy  you.  If  I  live,  I  will 
yet  drag  you  to  justice  for  the  murder  of  my 
brother." 

"Mr.  Martin,  you  have  forgotten  that  the  word 
of  God  says,  'Vengeance  is  mine  and  I  will  repay, 
saith  the  Lord,'  "  put  in  Charles. 

"I  will  be  the  instrument  of  vengeance." 

"  You  are  in  the  power  of  Mr.  Waters. " 

"For  the  present  I  am." 

"Don't  you  think  you  should  be  careful  how 
you  threaten  him,  seeing  he  has  you  at  his  mercy." 

Charles  could  not  intimidate  the  bold  Virginian. 
He  was  furious,  and  no  threat  of  punishment  could 
move  him. 

During  the  day,  a  dozen  more  Indians  came  in. 
The  red  men  now  numbered  eighty,  and  by  the 
afternoon  the  entire  party  was  moving  toward 
Salem. 

At  dusk  they  were  but  five  miles  from  the  vil 
lage.  Here  a  halt  was  called,  and,  after  a  short 
consultation,  Oracus  detailed  five  of  his  braves  to 
guard  Mr.  Martin,  and  with  the  others  moved  on 
over  the  hills  and  through  the  woods  toward  Salem. 

"What  will  they  do  with  him?"  Charles  asked. 

"Release  him  when  we  leave  the  village." 

"Mr.  Waters,  would  you  not  be  justified  in 
killing  him?" 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  299 

"No." 

"Why  not?     He  will  murder  you  if  he  can." 

"  No  one  is  justified  in  slaying  a  prisoner,  and  I 
shall  never  do  it.  No  more  blood  will  be  on  my 
hands,  unless  it  be  in  defence  of  her.  For  her,  I 
slew  the  other,  and  only  for  her  will  my  arm  ever 
be  raised  against  my  fellow  man." 

"Not  even  in  self  defence?" 

"No,  as  God  is  my  judge,  my  hand  shall  never 
be  raised  even  to  defend  this  miserable  life.  I  live 
but  for  my  child,  and  when  she  is  gone,  I  care  not 
how  soon  I  am  called.  1  have  known  only  sorrow 
since " 

He  did  not  finish  the  sentence,  but  turned  away. 

It  was  late  in  the  night  when  the  party  entered 
Salem.  The  houses  were  dark  and  silent.  No 
light  was  visible  from  any  window,  and  it  seemed 
a  deserted  hamlet.  Earnestness  without  excite 
ment  was  evinced.  Everything  was  done  in  per 
fect  order.  The  men  moved  first  to  the  blacksmith 
shop,  where  several  supplied  themselves  with  axes, 
heavy  crow-bars  and  sledges. 

"Explain  to  your  warriors  that,  under  no  cir 
cumstances,  are  they  to  shed  blood,"  said  Mr. 
George  Waters. 

While  Oracus  was  giving  this  order  to  his  braves, 
Mr.  Waters,  by  the  aid  of  a  lighted  pine  knot, 
found  a  pair  of  cold  chisels,  which  he  appropriated. 


300  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Then  the  party  moved  off  toward  the  jail  in  per 
fect  order.  There  was  no  undue  haste,  or  nervous 
excitement.  All  seemed  as  cool  as  if  they  were 
going  as  invited  guests  to  a  banquet. 

The  Indians'  moccasined  feet  made  scarcely  any 
noise  upon  the  ground,  as  they  moved  forward. 
Mr.  Henry  "Waters  carried  in  his  hand  a  stout  iron 
bar,  and  twenty  Indians  bore  on  their  shoulders  a 
heavy  log  of  wood. 

At  a  word  of  command  from  Oracus  the  others 
deployed  as  flankers  and  guards.  They  had  strict 
orders  to  harm  no  one;  but,  should  they  find  any 
attempting  to  approach  them,  they  were  to  seize  and 
hold  such  persons. 

The  jail  was  reached.  The  long,  low  wall  of 
stone,  with  gates  of  iron,  loomed  up  like  some 
sullen  monster  before  the  determined  men.  Mr. 
Henry  Waters  thrust  the  heavy  iron  bar  he  carried 
under  the  iron  gate,  and  tore  it  off  its  hinges. 

Then  George  Waters  and  Charles  raised  their 
sledges,  while  the  savages  with  the  heavy  log  of 
wood  ran  it  like  a  monster  battering-ram  against 
the  door.  At  the  same  instant  they  struck  it  with 
their  sledges. 

The  crash  was  deafening,  and  the  jail  trembled 
to  its  very  centre.  Again,  and  again,  and  again 
did  those  crashing  thunder-bolts  fall  upon  the  iron 
door.  The  unfortunate  inmates,  not  knowing  the 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  301 

object  of  this  terrible  attack,  set  up  a  howl  which 
was  heard  above  the  thunder  crashes.  The  door, 
stout  as  it  was,  could  not  long  withstand  that  as 
sault.  It  gave  way  with  a  crash,  and  fell  into  the 
hall  way. 

The  terrified  jailer  tumbled  out  of  his  bed.  only 

to  find    himself  seized 
and  held  by  a  pair  of 


THE  JAIL  TREMBLED  TO  ITS  VERY  CENTRB. 

painted  sons  of  the  forest.  Others  who  attempted 
to  interfere  were  seized  and  held  in  grasps  of  iron. 

No  sooner  was  the  door  of  the  jail  burst  off  its 
hinges,  than  George  Waters  and  Charles  Stevens, 
each  with  a  chisel  and  hammer,  rushed  in  to  cut 
the  chains  of  the  prisoners. 

"Mother!  mother!  where  are  you?"  cried 
Charles. 


302  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

He  had  to  call  several  times  before  the  frightened 
woman  could  answer.  Then  from  out  the  dark 
ness  there  came  a  feeble  response.  He  groped  his 
way  along  in  the  darkness.  He  found  a  cell  door, 
tore  it  open  and  reached  her  side. 

.  At  this  moment  some  one  lighted  a  torch  within 
the  jail.  A  scene,  wild,  weird  and  terrible  burst 
upon  their  view.  The  prisoners  were  almost  driven 
to  madness  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  savage 
and  civilized  liberators. 

Charles  Stevens,  with  chisel  and  hammer,  quickly 
cut  the  chains  of  his  mother  and  hastened  to  liberate 
Cora.  Her  father  held  the  light,  while  he  cut  the 
iron  band. 

"Free!  free!"  cried  the  excited  Charles.  "Let 
us  away  before  the  town  is  roused!" 

"No,"  answered  Mr.  George  Waters ;  "not  while 
a  prisoner  remains  to  suffer  the  wrath  of  prejudice." 

Then  with  chisel  and  hammer  he  went  from  one 
to  another  and  cut  the  iron  bands  which  bound 
them. 

Oracus  and  Henry  Waters  joined  him  in  the 
work  of  liberation,  until  all  were  freed. 

This  required  several  moments  of  time,  and  the 
confusion  and  uproar  which  they  were  compelled 
to  make  was  rousing  the  town. 

Mr.  Parris,  half-dressed,  ran  barefoot  through 
the  town,  waving  his  long  arms  in  the  air,  and 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  303 

shouting  that  the  fiends  of  the  air  had  conspired  to 
liberate  the  prisoners.  His  words  and  his  wild, 
fanatical  manner  tended  rather  to  increase  the  fear 
of  the  people  of  Salem,  than  diminish  it.  Then 
there  went  out  the  report  through  the  village  that 
the  Indians  had  attacked  the  town,  and  the  people, 
roused  from  their  midnight  slumbers,  magnified 
the  numbers  of  the  assailants  ten  to  one. 

"Cora!  Mother!"  whispered  Charles,  "this 
way!" 

He  took  a  hand  of  each  and  started  to  run  from 
the  jail  down  the  street. 

Others  followed. 

"Fly!  all  of  you!  Fly  for  your  lives!"  cried 
Henry  Waters,  who,  now  that  his  work  was  done, 
flung  aside  his  iron  bar  and  sledge. 

At  a  word  of  command  from  Oracus  his  warriors 
formed  a  hollow  square  about  the  escaping  fugi 
tives,  and  moved  off  as  rapidly  as  they  could. 

Everybody  was  bewildered.  Everybody  run 
ning  into  the  street  was  asking: 

"  What  has  happened?     What  has  gone  amiss?" 

"They  are  rescuing  the  prisoners,"  shouted  Mr. 
Parris,  wildly.  "Don't  you  see  them  hurrying 
away  with  them." 

He  ran  to  the  sheriff  and  cried : 

" Bestir  yourself!  Do  you  not  see  they  are  tak 
ing  your  prisoners  away?" 


304  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"I  have  no  deputies,"  answered  the  sheriff. 
"They  number  hundreds,  and  the  Indians  are  with 
them." 

"Nonsense!  They  are  only  disguised,  and  are 
not  a  dozen.  Come!  I  will  go  with  you." 

Four  or  five  by-standers,  being  thus  emboldened, 
offered  to  go  themselves  and  aid  in  recovering  the 
prisoners. 

"Come!  I  will  lead  you!"  cried  the  eager 
preacher,  allowing  his  zeal  to  overcome  his  dis 
cretion. 

They  ran  after  the  escaping  party,  and  Mr. 
Parris,  either  being  more  zealous  than  the  others, 
or  more  swift  of  foot,  outran  them  and,  eluding 
some  of  the  Indians,  who  tried  to  intercept  him, 
ran  to  where  Charles  Stevens  was  half  leading  and 
half  dragging  his  mother  and  Cora  from  the 
village. 

"  Fire-brand  of  hades!  you  shall  not  escape  me," 
cried  Mr.  Parris  seizing  Cora's  shoulder  with  a 
clutch  so  fierce  as  to  make  her  cry  out. 

Charles  released  both  his  mother  and  Cora,  and, 
seizing  Mr.  Parris  by  the  throat,  hurled  him  to 
the  ground,  and  raised  a  hammer  to  brain  him; 
but  at  this  moment  a  strong  hand  seized  his  arm, 
and  the  calm,  kind  voice  of  Mr.  Waters  said: 

"Stay  your  hand,  Charles.  Do  the  man  no 
harm." 


ESCAPE  AND  FLIGHT.  305 

Next  moment,  a  pair  of  dusky  hands  seized 
Mr.  Parris,  and  he  was  hurried  away  to  the  rear. 
Mr.  Henry  Waters  caused  a  couple  of  guns  to  be 
fired  in  the  air  in  order  to  intimidate  their  pur 
suers.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  men 
tion  of  Indians  was  sufficient  to  drive  all  to  the 
defense  of  their  homes. 

The  fugitives  reached  the  forest  before  the 
sheriff  and  Mr.  Parris  could  get  an  armed  party  in 
pursuit. 

They  followed  them  to  the  brook,  and  fired  a 
volley    at   them,   but   in    vain.     The    number   of 
accused  who  escaped  on  that  night,  has  been  esti 
mated  at  from  twenty  to  one  hundred. 
20 


CHAPTER   XYTI. 

OUT   OF   THE    FRYING   PAN   INTO    THE    FIRE. 

Though  high  the  warm,  red  torrent  ran, 
Between  the  flames  that  lit  the  sky  ; 
Yet,  for  each  drop,  an  armed  man 
Shall  rise,  to  free  the  land,  or  die. 

—BRYANT. 

THE  liberated  prisoners  went  whithersoever  they 
pleased.  Some  went  to  Boston,  others  to  Ply 
mouth,  many  to  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Mary 
land,  while  a  few  returned  to  England.  They 
were  wearied  with  their  experience  in  the  New 
World,  and  were  content  to  spend  their  days  in 
England. 

Charles  Stevens  retained  a  firm  hold  on  his 
mother  and  Cora,  until  it  was  quite  evident  that 
their  pursuers  had,  for  the  present,  at  least,  given 
up  the  chase.  They  went  on  in  the  forest  until 
they  were  joined  by  the  five  savages  left  to  guard 
Joel  Martin.  Martin  was  no  longer  with  them. 
Charles  did  not  inquire  what  had  become  of  him, 
for  he  was  wholly  engrossed  in  the  safety  of  Cora 
and  his  mother. 

306 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  307 

The  Indians  and  the  Waters  brothers  were  en 
gaged  in  a  consultation.  Charles  took  no  part  in 
the  consultation,  for  he  knew  nothing  to  advise. 
Then  the  Indians  accompanied  them  for  a  few 
miles  through  the  woods.  The  forest  wa?  dark 
and  sombre,  and  they  had  only  the  silent  stars  to 
light  their  path,  until  the  tardy  moon,  rising  at  a 
late  hour,  filled  the  landscape  with  silver  light. 

Day  dawned,  and  they  were  in  a  wild,  picturesque 
wood,  with  towering  hills  and  stupendous  oaks  on 
every  side.  Here  they  halted  again  for  consulta 
tion.  Oracus,  after  giving  them  all  the  provisions 
he  had  with  him,  took  his  warriors  and  stole  off 
into  the  forest. 

George  Waters  and  his  brother  urged  the  es 
caped  prisoners  to  eat  some  dried  venison  and 
parched  corn  and  sleep.  They  did.  Indian  blankets 
on  the  ground  afforded  them  beds,  and  their  only 
covering  was  the  sky. 

Charles  slept  until  the  afternoon  was  almost 
spent,  and  then  he  wab  awakened  by  the  tramp  of 
horses  feet.  He  started  up  and  found  three  In 
dians  with  five  horses,  saddled  and  bridled.  The 
Indians  belonged  to  the  braves  of  Oracus,  and, 
without  a  word,  they  dismounted  and  turned  over 
the  horses  to  the  Englishmen,  and  stole  away  into 
the  forest. 

A  few  moments  later,   the   white  people  were 


308  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

mounted  and  riding  away  through  one  of  the 
narrow  paths  known  only  to  the  Waters  brothers. 

Charles  Stevens'  soul  was  too  full  for  him  to 
give  heed  to  what  course  they  took.  His  mother 
and  Cora  were  free,  though  he  little  dreamed  that 
they  were  escaping  from  one  danger  to  another. 
They  arrived  one  night  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Dustin, 
near  Haverhill,  in  Massachusetts.  .  When  the 
frontiersman  heard  their  story,  he  said: 

"You  are  welcome,  my  persecuted  friends,  to 
the  shelter  of  my  roof,  so  long  as  it  can  afford 
you  any  protection;  but  the  war  clouds  seem  to 
grow  darker  and  more  lowering  every  moment,  and 
I  don't  know  how  long  my  roof  will  afford  protec 
tion  to  any  one." 

Charles  Stevens  had  been  so  busy  with  his  own 
cares  and  griefs,  that  he  had  forgotten  that  a  terri 
ble  Indian  war  was  raging  on  the  frontier.  This 
war  was  known  as  King  William's  war,  in  which 
the  French  joined  with  the  Indians  in  bringing 
fire  and  sword  upori  the  inhabitants  of  New  Eng 
land  and  New  York.  The  French  and  English 
had  long  been  jealous  of  each  other,  and  a  con 
nected  account  need  not  be  given  here  of  all  the 
disastrous  occurrences  which  lead  up  to  the  terrible 
assault  on  Haverhill,  where  the  fugitives  from 
Salem  were  stopping. 

We  will  mention,  as  first  of  the  principal  attacks 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  309 

during  the  war  of  King  William,  the  attack  on 
Schenectady.  This  was  made  in  pursuance  of  a 
plan  adopted  by  Count  Frontenac,  then  governor 
of  Canada,  as  a  means  of  avenging  on  the  English 
Colonies  the  treatment  of  King  James,  deposed  by 
William  and  Mary,  which  had  inflamed  the  resent 
ment  of  Frontenac' s  master,  Louis  XI Y.  While 
New  York  was  torn  with  internal  strife  over 
Leisler,  the  governor  of  Canada  fitted  out  three 
expeditions  against  the  colonies,  and  in  the  midst 
of  winter  one  was  sent  against  New  York.  The 
attack  on  Schenectady  was  the  fruit  of  this  expedi 
tion.  It  was  made  by  a  party  consisting  of  about 
two  hundred  French  and  fifty  Caughnewaga  In 
dians,  under  command  of  Maulet  and  St.  Helene, 
in  1689  and  1690. 

Schenectady  was  built  in  the  form  of  an  oblong 
square  with  a  gate  at  either  extremity.  The 
enemy  found  one  of  the  gates  not  only  open,  but 
unguarded.  Although  the  town  was  impaled  and 
might  have  been  protected,  there  was  so  little 
thought  of  danger,  that  no  one  deemed  it  necessary 
to  close  the  gate.  The  weather  was  very  cold,  and 
the  English  did  not  suppose  an  attack  would  be 
made. 

It  was  eleven  o'clock  and  thirty  minutes  on 
Saturday  night,  February  8th,  1690,  when  the 
enemy  entered,  divided  their  party,  waylaid  every 


310  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

portal  and  began  the  attack  with  a  terrible  war- 
whoop.  Maulet  attacked  a  garrison,  where  the 
only  resistance  was  made.  He  soon  forced  the 
gate,  slew  the  soldiers  and  burned  the  garrison. 
One  of  the  French  officers  was  wounded  in  forcing  a 
house;  but  St.  Helene  came  to  his  aid,  the  house 
was  taken,  and  all  in  it  were  put  to  the  sword. 

Naught  was  now  to  be  seen,  save  massacre  and 
pillage  on  every  side,  while  the  most  shocking 
barbarities  were  practised  ont  he  unfortunate  inhab 
itants. 

"Sixty-three  houses  and  the  church  were  imme 
diately  in  a  blaze,"  says  a  contemporaneous  writer. 
Weak  women,  in  their  expiring  agonies,  saw  their 
infants  cast  into  the  flames,  or  brained  before  their 
eyes.  Sixty-three  persons  were  murdered  and 
twenty-seven  carried  into  captivity. 

A  few  persons  were  enabled  to  escape;  but, 
being  without  sufficient  clothing,  some  perished  in 
the  cold  before  they  reached  Albany. 

About  noon  next  day,  the  enemy  left  the  deso 
late  place,  taking  such  plunder  as  they  could  carry 
with  them  and  destroying  the  remainder.  It  was 
the  intention  of  Maulet  to  spare  the  minister,  for 
he  wanted  him  as  his  own  prisoner;  but  he  was 
found  among  the  mangled  dead,  and  his  papers 
burned.  Two  or  three  .houses  were  spared,  while 
the  others  were  consigned  to  the  flames. 


NAUGHT  WAS  TO  BE  SEEN,  SAVE  MASSACRE  AND  PILLAGE  ON  EVERY  8IDB. 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  311 

Owing  to  the  wretched  condition  of  the  roads 
and  the  deep  snows,  news  of  the  massacre  did  not 
reach  the  great  Mohawk  castle,  only  seventeen 
miles  distant,  for  two  days.  On  receipt  of  the 
terrible  news,  an  armed  party  set  out  at  once  in 
pursuit  of  the  foe.  After  a  long  tedious  march 
through  the  snow  and  forest,  they  came  upon  their 
rear,  and  a  furious  fight  followed,  in  which  about 
twenty-five  of  them  were  killed  and  wounded. 

A  second  party  of  French  and  Indians  was  sent 
against  the  delightful  settlement  of  Salmon  Falls, 
on  the  Piscataqua.  At  Three  Rivers,  Frontenac 
had  fitted  out  an  expedition  of  fifty-two  men  and 
twenty-five  Indians,  with  Sieur  Hertel  as  their 
leader.  In  this  small  band  he  had  three  sons  and 
two  nephews.  After  a  long  and  rugged  march, 
Hertel  reached  the  place  on  the  27th  of  March, 
1690.  His  spies  having  reconnoitred  it,  he  divided 
his  men  into  three  companies,  leading  the  largest 
himself.  Just  at  dawn  of  day  the  attack  was  made. 
The  English  stoutly  resisted,  but  were  unable  to 
withstand  the  well-directed  fire  of  their  assailants. 
Thirty  of  the  bravest  defenders  fell.  The  re 
mainder,  amounting  to  fifty-four,  were  made  pris 
oners.  The  English  had  twenty-seven  houses 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  two  thousand  domestic  ani 
mals  perished  in  the  barns  that  were  burned. 

The  third  party,  which  was  fitted  out  at  Quebec 


312  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

by  the  directions  of  Frontenac,  made  an  attack  upon 
Casco,  in  Maine.  The  expedition  was  commanded 
by  M.  De  Portneuf.  Hertel,  on  his  return  to 
Canada,  met  with  this  expedition,  and,  joining  it 
with  the  force  under  his  command,  came  back  to 
the  scene  of  warfare  in  which  he  had  been  so  un 
happily  successful.  As  the  hostile  army  marched 
through  the  country  of  the  Abenaki s,  numbers  of 
them  joined  it.  Portneuf,  with  his  forces  thus 
augmented,  came  into  the  neighborhood  of  Casco, 
about  the  25th  of  May,  1690.  On  the  following 
night,  an  Englishman  who  entered  the  well-laid 
ambush  was  captured  and  killed.  This  so  excited 
the  Indians  that  they  raised  the  war-whoop.  Fifty 
English  soldiers  were  sent  from  the  fort  to  ascer 
tain  the  occasion  of  the  yelling,  and  were  drawn 
into  the  ambuscade.  A  volley  from  the  woods  on 
either  side  swept  them  down,  and  before  the  re 
mainder  could  recover  from  the  panic  into  which 
they  were  thrown  by  the  volley,  they  were  assailed 
with  swords,  bayonets  and  tomahawks,  and  but 
four  out  of  the  party  escaped  and  these  with  severe 
wounds. 

"  The  English  seeing  now  that  they  must  stand 
a  siege,  abandoned  four  garrisons,  and  all  retired 
into  one  which  was  provided  with  cannon.  Before 
these  were  abandoned,  an  attack  was  made  upon 
one  of  them,  in  which  the  French  were  repulsed 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  313 

with  an  Indian  killed  and  a  Frenchman  wounded. 
Portneuf  now  began  to  doubt  of  his  ability  to  take 
Casco,  fearing  the  issue;  for  his  commission  only 
ordered  him  to  lay  waste  the  English  settlements, 
and  not  to  attempt  fortified  places;  but,  in  this 
dilemma,  Hertel  and  Hopehood  (a  celebrated  chief 
of  the  tribe  of  the  Kennebec),  arrived.  It  was 
now  determined  to  press  the  siege.  In  the  deserted 
forts  they  found  all  the  necessary  tools  for  carrying 
on  the  work,  and  they  began  a  mine  within  fifty 
feet  of  the  fort,  under  a  steep  bank,  which  entirely 
protected  them  from  its  guns.  The  English  be 
came  discouraged,  and,  on  the  28th  of  May,  sur 
rendered  themselves  as  prisoners  of  war.  There 
were  seventy  men  and  probably  a  greater  number 
of  women  and  children;  all  of  whom,  except  Cap 
tain  Davis,  who  commanded  the  garrison,  and  three 
or  four  others,  were  given  up  to  the  Indians,  who 
murdered  most  of  them  in  their  most  cruel  manner; 
and,  if  the  accounts  be  true,  Hopehood  excelled  all 
other  savages  in  acts  of  cruelty." 

These  barbarous  transactions  produced  both  ter 
ror  and  indignation  in  New  York  and  New  Eng 
land,  and  an  attempt  at  a  formidable  demonstration 
against  the  enemy  was  made.  The  general  court 
of  Massachusetts  sent  letters  of  request  to  the  sev 
eral  executives  of  the  provinces,  pursuant  to  which, 
they  convened  at  New  York,  May  1st,  1661,  As 


314  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  result  of  the  deliberations,  two  important  meas 
ures  were  adopted.  Connecticut  sent  General 
Winthrop  with  troops  to  march  through  Albany, 
there  to  receive  supplies  and  to  be  joined  by  a 
body  of  men  from  New  York.  The  expedition 
was  to  proceed  up  Lake  Champlain  to  destroy 
Montreal.  There  was  a  failure,  however,  of  the 
supplies,  and  this  project  was  defeated.  Massa 
chusetts  sent  forth  a  fleet  of  thirty-four  sail,  under 
William  Phipps.  He  proceeded  to  Port  Royal, 
took  it,  reduced  Acadia,  and  thence  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence,  with  the  design  of  capturing  Quebec. 
The  troops  landed  with  some  difficulty,  and  the 
place  was  boldly  summoned  to  surrender.  A 
proud  defiance  was  returned  by  Frontenac,  as  his 
position  at  that  time  happened  to  be  strengthened  by 
a  re-enforcement  from  Montreal.  Phipps,  learn 
ing  this,  and  finding,  also,  that  the  party  of  Win 
throp,  which  he  expected  at  Montreal,  failed,  gave 
up  the  attempt,  and  returned  to  Boston,  with,  the 
loss  of  several  vessels  and  a  considerable  number  of 
troops,  for  a  part  of  his  fleet  was  wrecked  by  a  storm. 
It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  trying  scenes  and 
devastation  on  the  part  of  the  French  and  savages, 
that  superstition  and  fanaticism  broke  loose  in 
Salem  and  produced  a  reign  of  terror  far  greater 
than  that  caused  by  the  savages  on  the  frontier. 
It  was  from  such  scenes  to  such  scenes  that  Charles 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  315 

Stevens,  his  mother  and  friends  fled.  Mr.  Dustin 
lived  near  Haverhill,  in  Massachusetts,  and  when 
they  appealed  to  him  for  shelter  and  protection 
he  said: 

"To  such  as  I  have  you  are  welcome;  but,  I 
assure  you,  it  is  poor.  The  savage  scalping-knife 
may  be  more  dangerous  than  the  fanatic's  noose  in 
Salem." 

They  had  been  at  Haverhill  but  a  few  weeks, 
when,  as  Charles  and  Mr.  Henry  Waters  were  one 
day  returning  from  a  hunt,  they  discovered  a  man 
trailing  them. 

"It's  a  white  man,"  Charles  remarked. 

"So  I  perceive,  and  why  should  he  trail  us?" 
Henry  Waters  asked. 

"I  know  not;  but  let  us  ascertain." 

They  halted  at  the  creek  near  Haverhill,  and 
were  sitting  on  the  banks  of  the  stream,  when  a 
voice  from  the  rocks  above  demanded  their  sur 
render. 

Looking  up,  they  found  themselves  covered  with 
three  rifles.  Three  white  men,  one  of  whom  they 
recognized  as  Mr.  Joel  Martin,  the  Virginian, 
stepped  out  from  behind  the  rocks  and  advanced 
toward  them,  assuring  them  that  any  effort  to  es 
cape,  or  resist  would  result  in  instant  death. 

"I  have  you  at  last,  murderer!"  cried  Martin, 
seizing  Henry  Waters. 


816  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"No,  you  mistake —  '  began  Charles;  but 
Henry  Waters  signed  him  to  keep  quiet.  The 
Waters  brothers,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  were  twins 
and  looked  so  much  alike,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
distinguish  one  from  the  other. 

Charles  was  not  slow  to  grasp  at  the  idea  of 
Henry  Waters.  He  would  suffer  himself  to  be 
taken  to  Virginia  in  his  brother's  stead,  where  he 
would  make  his  identity  known  and  establish  an 
alibi ;  but  there  was  danger  of  the  revengeful  Mar 
tin  killing  his  prisoner  before  he  reached  Virginia, 
and  Charles  said: 

"  Will  you  promise,  on  your  honor  as  a  Virginian, 
not  to  harm  the  prisoner  until  he  reaches  a  court 
of  justice?" 

The  Virginian  gave  his  promise,  and  then  the 
three  led  Mr.  Waters  hurriedly  away,  mounted 
horses,  hastened  to  Boston  and  took  a  vessel  for 
Virginia. 

Charles  Stevens  went  to  Mr.  George  Waters  and 
told  him  what  had  happened.  Mr.  Waters'  face 
grew  troubled;  but  he  said  nothing. 

That  night  there  was  an  alarm  of  savages  in  the 
neighborhood  and  Charles  Stevens  and  Mr.  Waters 
went  with  a  train-band  to  meet  the  foe.  In  a 
skirmish,  Mr.  Waters  was  wounded,  and  it  was 
thought  best  for  him  to  go  to  Boston  for  medical 
treatment. 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  317 

"I  have  friends  and  relatives  there,"  Charles 
said,  "and  we  might  be  safe." 

Next  day  the  four  secretly  set  out  for  Boston, 
where  they  lodged  for  awhile  with  some  relatives 
of  Charles  and  his  mother,  who  kept  their  pres 
ence  a  secret. 

Before  concluding  this  chapter,  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  author,  although  stepping  aside  from  the  nar 
rative,  to  relate  what  befell  their  brave  friends,  the 
Dustins,  during  the  progress  of  King  William's 
war.  The  atrocities  committed  upon  the  colonists 
by  the  French  and  Indians  were  equal  to  any  re 
corded  in  the  annals  of  barbarous  ages.  Connected 
with  these  were  instances  of  heroic  valor  on  the 
part  of  the  heroic  sufferers,  which  are  not  sur 
passed.  On  March  15th,  1697,  the  last  year  of 
King  William's  war,  an  attack  was  suddenly  made 
on  Haverhill  by  a  party  of  about  twenty  Indians. 
It  was  a  rapid,  but  fatal  onset,  and  a  fitting  finale 
of  so  dreadful  a  ten  years'  war.  Eight  houses  were 
destroyed,  twenty-seven  persons  killed,  and  thir 
teen  carried  away  prisoners.  One  of  these  houses, 
standing  in  the  outskirts  of  the  village  and,  in  fact, 
over  the  hill,  so  as  to  be  almost  out  of  sight  of  the 
people  in  the  town,  was  the  home  of  Mr.  Dustin, 
the  house  which  had  afforded  shelter  to  the  fugi 
tives  from  the  Salem  witchcraft  persecution. 

On  that  fatal  morning,  Mr.  Dustin  had  gone  to 


318  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  field  to  commence  his  spring  work.  The  season 
was  early,  and  the  plow  and  shovel  had  already 
begun  to  turn  over  the  rich,  black  soil.  The  in 
dustrious  farmer  had  but  just  harnessed  his  horse, 
when  the  animal  began  to  sniff  the  air,  and,  turn 
ing  his  eyes  toward  some  bushes,  Mr.  Dustin  dis 
covered  two  painted  faces,  with  heads  adorned  by 
feathers. 

At  the  same  moment,  a  rattling  crash  of  fire 
arms  and  the  terrible  war-whoop  announced  the 
attack  on  Haverhill.  He  unharnessed  his  horse, 
seized  his  gun,  which  he  always  kept  near  at  hand, 
and  galloped  away  like  the  wind  toward  the  house, 
pursued  by  arrows  of  the  Indians. 

Reaching  the  house  before  the  Indians,  he  cried 
to  his  family  to  fly,  and  he  would  cover  their 
retreat. 

"Mrs.  Neff,  take  Mrs.  Dustin  and  fly  for  your 
lives,"  he  cried. 

Mrs.  Dustin  had  an  infant,  but  a  few  days  old, 
and  was  confined  to  her  bed.  Mrs.  Neff  was  her 
nurse.  The  husband  made  an  attempt  to  remove 
his  wife;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  Indians,  like 
ravenous  wolves,  were  rushing  on  the  house.  Mrs. 
Dustin  turned  to  her  husband  and  said: 

"Go,  Thomas,  you  cannot  save  me,  go  and  save 
the  children." 

Moved  by  her  urgent  appeal,  he  leaped  on  his 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  319 

horse  and,  with  his  gun  in  his  hand,  galloped  away 
after  the  children,  seven  in  number,  who  were 
already  running  down  the  road.  The  first  thought 
of  the  father  was  to  seize  one,  place  it  on  the  horse 
before  him,  and  escape;  but  he  was  unable  to 
select  one  from  the  others.  All  were  alike  dear  to 
him,  and  he  resolved  to  defend  all  or  perish  in 
the  effort.  They  had  reached  a  point  below  the 
town,  where  the  road  ran  between  two  hills  in  a 
narrow  pass.  A  party  of  Indians,  eleven  in  num 
ber,  had  seen  the  children  and  were  running  after 
them.  Mr.  Dustin  spurred  his  horse  between  the 
children  and  the  savage  foe,  and  shouting  to  his 
darlings  to  fly,  and  bidding  the  oldest  carry  the 
youngest,  he  drew  rein  at  the  pass  and  cocked 
his  gun.  Thomas  Dustin  was  a  dead  shot,  and 
his  rifle  was  the  best  made  at  that  day. 

Facing  the  savages,  he  fired  and  shot  the  leader 
dead  in  his  tracks.  His  followers  were  appalled 
at  the  fate  of  their  brawny  chieftain,  and  for  a 
moment  hesitated.  Mr.  Dustin  hesitated  not  a 
single  instant,  but  proceeded,  without  a  moment's 
delay,  to  reload  his  gun.  Five  of  the  Indians  fired 
at  the  resolute  father,  as  he  rode  away  after  his 
flying  children. 

"Run!  run!  run  for  your  lives!"  he  shouted. 

The  Indians,  with  a  whoop  of  vengeance  fol 
lowed  the  father.  He  had  four  balls  in  his  gun, 


320  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

and,  wheeling  his  horse  about,  he  fired  this  terrible 
charge  at  them.  Though  none  were  killed  instantly 
at  this  shot,  three  were  wounded,  two  so  severely 
that  they  died  next  day.  The  Indians  abandoned 
the  pursuit  of  the  resolute  father,  who  continued 
to  fight  as  he  retreated,  and  turned  their  attention 
to  less  dangerous  victories,  so  Mr.  Dustin  escaped 
with  his  children. 

Mrs.  Neff,  the  nurse  in  attendance  on  Mrs. 
Dustin,  heroically  resolved  to  share  the  fate  of  her 
patient,  even  when  she  could  have  escaped.  The 
Indians  entered  the  house,  and,  having  made  the 
sick  woman  rise  and  sit  quietly  in  the  corner  of 
the  fire-place,  they  pillaged  the  dwelling,  and  set 
it  on  fire,  taking  the  occupants  out  of  it.  At  the 
approch  of  night,  Mrs.  Dustin  was  forced  to  march 
into  the  wilderness  and  seek  repose  on  the  hard, 
cold  ground.  Mrs.  Neff  attempted  to  escape  with 
the  baby,  but  was  intercepted.  The  infant  had 
its  brains  beaten  out  against  a  tree,  and  the  body 
was  thrown  into  the  bushes.  The  captives  of 
Haverhill,  when  collected,  were  thirteen  miserable, 
wretched  people.  That  same  day  they  were 
marched  twelve  miles  before  camping,  although  it 
was  nearly  night  before  they  set  out.  Succeeding 
this,  for  several  days  they  were  compelled  to  keep 
up  with  the  savage  captors,  over  an  extent  of  coun 
try  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  forty  or  fifty 


THE   RESOLUTE   FATHER  CONTINUED  TO  FIRE  AS   HE   RETREATED. 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  321 

miles.  Feeble  as  she  was,  it  seems  wonderful  that 
Mrs.  Dustin  should  have  borne  up  under  the  trials 
and  fatigues  of  the  journey;  but  she  did. 

After  this,  the  Indians,  according  to  their  cus 
tom,  divided  their  prisoners.  Mrs.  Dustin,  Mrs. 
Neff  and  a  captive  lad  from  Worcester  fell  to  the 
share  of  an  Indian  family  consisting  of  twelve  per 
sons.  "These  now  took  charge  of  the  captives  and 
treated  them  with  no  particular  unkindness,  save 
that  of  forcing  them  to  extend  their  journey  still 
further  toward  an  Indian  settlement.  One  day 
they  told  the  prisoners  that  there  was  one  ceremony 
to  which  they  must  submit  after  their  arrival  at 
their  destination,  and  that  was  running  the  gaunt-' 
let  between  two  files  of  Indians.  This  announce 
ment  filled  Mrs.  Dustin  and  her  companions  with 
so  much  dread,  that  they  mutually  resolved  to 
make  a  desperate  attempt  to  escape. 

Mrs.  Hannah  Dustin,  Mrs.  Mary  Neff  the  nurse, 
and  the  lad  Samuel  Leonardson,  only  eleven  years 
of  age,  were  certainly  not  persons  to  excite  the  fear 
of  a  dozen  sturdy  warriors.  The  Indians  believed 
the  lad  faithful  to  them,  and  never  dreamed  that 
the  women  would  have  courage  enough  to  attempt 
to  escape,  and  no  strict  watch  was  kept  over  them. 

In  order  to  throw  the  savage  captors  off  their 
guard,    Mrs.    Dustin    seemed    to     take    well     to 
them,  and  on  the  day    before  the  plan  of  escape 
21 


322  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

was  carried  out,  she  ascertained,  through  inquiries 
made  by  the  lad,  how  to  kill  a  man  instantly  and 
how  to  take  off  his  scalp. 

"Strike  him  here,"  the  Indian  explained,  plac 
ing  his  finger  on  his  temple,  "and  take  off  his 
scalp  so,  "showing  the  lad  how  it  was  done.  With 
this  information,  the  plot  was  ripe.  Just  before 
dawn  of  day,  when  the  Indians  sleep  most  pro 
found,  Mrs.  Dustin  softly  rose  from  her  bed  of 
earth  and  touched  Mary  Neff  on  the  shoulder.  A 
single  touch  was  sufficient  to  awake  her,  and  she 
sat  up.  Next  the  lad  had  to  be  aroused.  Being 
young  and  wearied,  his  slumbers  were  profound. 
An  Indian  lay  near  asleep.  Mrs.  Dustin  seized 
his  tomahawk,  and  Mrs.  Neff  seized  another  In 
dian's  weapons.  The  nurse  shook  Samuel.  The 
lad  rose,  rubbed  his  eyes  and  went  over  to  where 
the  man  lay,  who  had  instructed  him  in  the  art  of 
killing.  He  seized  his  hatchet  and  held  it  in  his 
hand  ready.  At  a  signal  from  Mrs.  Dustin,  three 
blows  fell  on  three  temples,  and  with  a  quiver  three 
sleepers  in  life  had  passed  to  the  sleep  of  death. 
Once  more  the  hatchets  were  raised,  and  six  of  the 
twelve  were  dead.  The  little  noise  they  were 
compelled  to  make  disturbed  the  slumbers  of  the 
others,  and  the  three  hatchets,  now  red  with  blood, 
fell  on  three  more.  Mrs.  Neff,  growing  nervous 
and  excited,  cut  her  man's  head  a  little  too  far 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  323 

forward,  and  he  started  up  with  a  yell.  The  blood 
blinded  him,  however,  and  she  stabbed  him. 

The  yell  had  roused  the  others,  and  a  squaw 
with  a  child  fled  to  the  woods,  while  the  tenth,  a 
young  warrior,  was  assailed  by  Mrs.  Dustin  and 
the  lad  and  slain  ere  he  was  fully  awake.  Ten  of 
the  twelve  were  dead,  and  the  escaped  prisoners, 
after  scuttling  all  the  boats  save  one,  to  prevent 
pursuit,  started  in  that  down  the  river,  with  what 
provisions  they  could  take  from  the  Indians.  They 
had  not  gone  far,  when  Mrs.  Dustin  said: 

"We  have  not  scalped  the  Indians." 

"Why  should  we?"  asked  Mrs.  Neff. 

"  When  we  get  home  and  tell  our  friends  that 
we  three  slew  ten  Indians,  they  will  demand  some 
'proof  of  the  assertion,  and  the  ten  scalps  will  be 
proof." 

JSamuel  Leonardson,  boy  like,  was  anxious  to 
have  the  scalps  of  his  foes,  and  so  they  overruled 
Mrs.  Neff  and,  turning  about,  went  back  to  the 
camp  which  was  now  deserted  save  by  the  ghastly 
dead,  their  glassy  eyes  gazing  upward  at  the  skies. 

"This  is  the  way  he  told  me  to  do  it,"  said 
Samuel,  seizing  the  tuft  of  hair  on  the  head  of  the 
man  who  had  instructed  him  in  scalping.  He  ran 
the  keen  edge  of  a  knife  around  the  skull  and,  by 
a  quick  jerk,  pulled  off  the  scalp. 

Being  novices  in  the  art,  it  took  them  some  time 


324  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

to  remove  the  scalps  from  the  heads  of  all ;  but 
the  bloody  task  was  finally  accomplished  and  put 
ting  the  scalps  in  a  bag,  they  once  more  embarked 
in  the  Indian  canoe  and  started  down  the 
stream. 

"With  strong  hearts,  the  three  voyagers  went 
down  the  Merrimac  to  their  homes,  every  moment 
in  peril  from  savages  or  the  elements,  and  were 
received  as  persons  risen  from  the  dead.  Mrs. 
Dustin  found  her  husband  and  children  saved. 
Soon  after,  she  went  to  Boston,  carrying  with  her 
a  gun  and  tomahawk,  which  she  had  brought  from 
the  wigwam,  and  her  ten  trophies,  *and  the  general 
court  of  Massachusetts  gave  these  brave  sufferers 
fifty  pounds  as  a  reward  for  their  heroism.  Ex- 
Governor  Nicholson,  of  Maryland,  sent  a  metal 
tankard  to  Mrs.  Dustin  and  Mrs.  Neff,  as  a  token 
of  his  admiration.  That  tankard  is  now  (1875)  in 
the  possession  of  Mr.  Emry  Coffin,  of  Newbury- 
port,  Massachusetts.  During  the  summer  of  1874, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  years  after  the 
event,  citizens  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp 
shire  erected  on  the  highest  point  of  Dustin '-s  Island 
an  elegant  monument,  commemorative  of  the  heroic 
deed.  It  displays  a  figure  of  Mrs.  Dustin,  holding 
in  her  right  hand,  raised  in  the  attitude  of  striking, 
a  tomahawk,  and  a  bunch  of  scalps  in  the  other. 
On  it  are  inscribed  the  names  of  Hannah  Dustin, 


OUT  OF  THE  FRYING  PAN  INTO  THE  FIRE.  325 

Mary  Neff  and  Samuel  Leonardson,  the  English 
lad."* 

Haverhill  was  a  second  time  attacked  and  deso 
lated  during  King  William's  war,  and  other  places 
suffered.  The  treaty  at  Eyswick,  a  village  near 
the  Hague,  in  Holland,  soon  after,  put  an  end  to 
the  indiscriminate  slaughter  in  Europe  and  Amer 
ica.  At  this  insignificant  little  village,  a  peace 
was  agreed  upon  between  Louis  XIV.  of  France 
and  England,  Spain  and  Holland,  and  the  German 
Empire,  which  ended  a  war  of  more  than  seven 
years'  duration.  Louis  was  compelled  to  acknowl 
edge  William  of  Orange  to  be  the  sovereign  of 
England.  That  war  cost  Great  Britain  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars  in  cash,  besides 
a  hundred  millions  loaned.  The  latter  laid  the 
foundation  of  England's  enormous  national  debt, 
which,  to-day,  amounts  to  five  thousand  millions 
of  dollars. 

Prior  to  the  treaty  at  Ryswick,  a  Board  of  Trade 
and  Plantations  was  established  in  England,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  have  a  general  oversight  of  the 
affairs  of  the  American  colonies.  It  was  a  per 
manent  commission,  the  members  of  which  were 
called  "Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations."  It  con 
sisted  of  seven  members,  with  a  president,  and  was 
always  a  ready  instrument  of  oppression  in  the 
*Lossing's  "  Our  Country, "  vol.  iii.,  p-  418. 


826  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

hands  of  the  sovereign,  and  became  a  powerful 
promoter  of  those  discontents  in  the  colonies,  which 
broke  out  in  open  rebellion  in  1775. 

The  peace  of  Eyswick  was  of  short  duration. 
Aspirants  for  power  again  tormented  the  people 
with  the  evils  of  war.  King  James  II.  died  in 
France,  September,  1701.  He  had  been  shielded 
by  Louis  after  his  flight  from  his  throne  to  France, 
and  now  the  French  monarch  acknowledged  James' 
son,  James  Francis  Edward  (known  in  history  as 
the  pretender)  to  be  the  lawful  king  of  England. 
This  act  greatly  offended  the  English,  because  the 
crown  had  been  settled  upon  Anne,  James's  second 
Protestant  daughter.  Louis,  in  addition,  had  of 
fended  the  English  by  placing  his  grandson,  Philip 
of  Anjou,  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  so  increasing 
the  influence  of  France  among  the  dynasties  of 
Europe.  King  William  was  enraged  and  was  pre 
paring  for  war,  when  a  fall  from  his  horse,  while 
hunting,  caused  his  death.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Anne,  and  a  war  ensued,  which  lasted  almost  a 
dozen  years  and  is  known  in  history  as  Queen 
Anne's  War.  We  have,  however,  too  long  dwelt 
on  the  general  history  of  the  country.  It  will  be 
essential  to  our  story  that  we  return  to  the  village 
of  Salem  where  superstition  was  reigning,  while 
the  chief  characters  of  our  story  were  resting  in 
security  at  Boston,  not  daring  to  go  abroad  by  day. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

SUPERSTITION      REIGNS. 

The  awful  tragedy  was  through, 
And  friends  and  enemies  withdrew. 
Some  smite  their  breasts  and  trembling  say, 
"Unlawful  deeds  were  done  to-day." 

— PAXTON. 

AFTER  the  escape  of  Mrs.  Stevens  and  Cora 
Waters,  a  wave  of  superstition  swept  over  the 
village  of  Salem  with  such  irresistible  fury,  that  it 
seemed  in  greater  danger  than  the  frontier  settle 
ments  did  from  the  French  and  Indians.  The 
Nurse  family  and  all  their  relatives  came  in  for  a 
greater  share  than  any  other.  Mrs.  Cloyse  was 
second  of  the  family  to  be  accused  by  Parris  and 
his  minions.  Mrs.  Cloyse  drew  ill-will  upon  her 
self  at  the  outset  by  doing  as  her  brother  and  sister 
Nurse  did.  They  all  absented  themselves  from 
the  examinations  in  the  church,  and,  when  the  in 
terruptions  of  the  services  became  too  flagrant, 
from  Sabbath  worship.  They  declared  that  they 
took  that  course,  because  they  disapproved  of  the 
permission  given  to  the  profanation  of  the  place 
327 


328  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

and  the  service.  At  last  Mrs.  Cloyse,  or  Goody 
Cloyse,  as  she  was  called  in  the  records  of  the  day, 
was  arrested.  Mary  Easty  and  Elizabeth  Proctor 
were  also  arrested.  Mary  Easty,  sister  of  Mrs. 
Nurse,  was  tried  and  condemned.  On  her  con 
demnation  and  sentence,  she  made  an  affective 
memorial  while  under  sentence  of  death,  and  fully 
aware  of  the  hopelessness  of  her  case,  addressing 
the  judges,  the  magistrates  and  the  reverend  min 
isters,  imploring  them  to  consider  what  they  were 
doing,  and  how  far  their  course  in  regard  to  ac 
cused  persons  was  inconsistent  with  the  principles 
and  rules  of  justice. 

"I  ask  nothing  for  myself,"  she  said.  "I  am 
satisfied  with  my  own  innocence  and  certain  of  my 
doom  on  earth  and  my  hope  in  Heaven.  What  I 
do  desire,  is  to  induce  the  authorities  to  take  time, 
and  to  use  caution  in  receiving  and  strictness  in 
sifting  testimony;  and  so  shall  they  ascertain  the 
truth,  and  absolve  the  innocent,  the  blessing  of 
God  being  upon  your  conscientious  endeavors." 

No  effect  was  produced  by  her  warnings  or  re 
monstrances.  Before  setting  forth  from  the  jail  to 
the  "Witches'  Hill  on  the  day  of  her  death,  she 
serenely  bade  farewell  to  her  husband  and  many 
children,  and  many  of  her  friends,  some  of  whom 
afterward  related  that  "her  sayings  were  so  seri 
ous,  religious,  distinct  'and  affectionate  as  could 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  329 

well  be  expressed,  drawing  tears  from  the  eyes  of 
all  present." 

The  subject  of  witchcraft  grew  more  interesting 
after  the  execution  of  Mary  Easty,  and  to  examine 
Elizabeth  Proctor  and  Sarah  Cloyse,  or  Cloyce,  as 
Mr.  Bancroft  spells  the  name,  the  deputy  governor 
and  five  magistrates  went  to  Salem.  It  was  a  great 
day.  Several  ministers  were  present.  Par ris  offi 
ciated,  and,  by  his  own  record,  it  is  plain  that  he 
himself  elicited  every  accusation.  His  first  witness 
John,  the  West  India  negro  servant,  husband  to 
Tituba,  was  rebuked  by  Sarah  Cloyse  as  a  grievous, 
liar.  Abigail  Williams,  the  niece  to  Parris,  was 
also  at  hand  with  her  wonderful  tales  of  sorcery. 
She  swore  she  had  seen  the  prisoner  at  the  witches' 
sacrament. 

Struck  with  horror  at  such  bold  perjury,  Sarah 
Cloyse  called  for  water  and  swooned  away  before 
it  could  be  brought  her.  Upon  this,  Abigail  Will 
iams,  her  brother's  wife,  Sarah  Williams,  Parris' 
daughter  and  Ann  Putnam  shouted: 

"Her  spirit  is  gone  to  prison  to  her  sister!" 

Against  Elizabeth  Proctor,  Abigail  Williams 
related  stories  that  were  so  foolish  that  one  wonders 
how  any  sensible  person  could  believe  them. 
Among  other  things  she  told  how  the  accused  had 
invited  her  to  sign  the  Devil's  book. 

"Dear   child!"    exclaimed  the  accused,  in  her 


330 


THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 


agony,  "it  is  not  so.  There  is  another  judgment, 
dear  child,"  and  her  accusers,  turning  toward  her 
husband,  declared  that  he,  too,  was  a  wizard. 
All  three  were  committed.  Examinations  and 
commitments  multiplied.  Giles  Corey,  a  stubborn 
old  man  of  more  than  four-score  years,  could  not 
escape  the  malice  of  his  minister  and  his  angry 
neighbors,  with  whom  he  had 
quarrelled.  Parris  had  had  a 
rival  in  George  Burroughs,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College, 
who,  having  formerly  preach 
ed  in  Salem  village,  had 
friends  there  desirous  of  his 
return.  He  was  a  skeptic  on 
the  subject  of  witchcraft,  and 
Parris  determined  to  have  his 
revenge  on  him,  and,  through 
his  many  agents  and  instru 
ments,  had  him  accused  and 
committed.  Thus  far  there  had  been  no  success 
in  obtaining  confessions,  though  earnestly  solicited. 
It  had  been  strongly  hinted  that  a  confession  was 
an  avenue  of  safety.  At  last,  "  Deliverance  Hobbs 
owned  every  thing  that  was  asked  of  her,"  and 
left  unharmed.  The  gallows  was  to  be  set  up, 
not  for  those  who  professed  themselves  witches, 
but  for  those  who  rebuked  the  delusion. 


LIEUT. -Gov.  STOUGHTON. 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  331 

On  May  14th,  the  new  charter  and  the  royal 
governor  arrived  in  Boston.  On  the  next  Monday, 
the  charter  was  published,  and  the  parishioner  of 
Cotton  Mather,  with  the  royal  council,  was  in 
stalled  in  office.  The  triumph  of  Cotton  Mather 
was  complete.  A  court  of  oyer  and  terminer  was 
immediately  instituted  by  ordinance,  and  the  posi 
tive,  overbearing  Stoughton  was  appointed  by  the 
governor  and  council  as  its  chief  judge,  with  Sewall 
and  Wait  Winthrop,  two  feebler  men,  as  his  asso 
ciates.  By  the  second  of  June,  the  court  was  in 
session  at  Salem,  making  its  experiment  on  Bridget 
Bishop,  a  poor  and  friendless  old  woman.  The 
fact  of  witchcraft  Was  assumed  as  "notorious." 
-T>  To  fix  it  on  the  prisoner,  Samuel  Parris,  who  had 
examined  lu-.r  before  her  commitment,  was  the 
principal  witness  to  her  power  of  inflicting  torture. 
He  had  seen  it  exercised.  Then  came  the  testimony 
of  the  bewitched,  and  a  -terrible  moso  of  atuff  it  was. 
One,OH-ceading  it, might  suppose  that  all  the  inmates 
of  Bedlam  had  been  summoned  into  court  to  give 
their  personal  experience  in  the  land  of  insanity. 

Many  of  the  witnesses  testified  that  the  "shape" 
of  the  prisoner  often  grievously  tormented  them, 
by  pinching,  choking,  or  biting  them,  and  did 
'otherwise  seriously  afflict  them,  urging  them  all 
the  while  to  write  their  names  in  a 
{tthe-speetre"- called:  "Our  book." 


332  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Sarah  Williams, Who  was  devotedly  attached  to 
Mr.  Parris  and  his  cause,^wore  that  it  was  the 
shape  of  this  prisoner,  with  Cora  Waters,  which 
one  day  took  her  from  her  wheel  and,  carrying 
her  to  the  river  side,  threatened  to  drown  her,  if 
she  did  not  sign  the  book  mentioned,  which  she 
yet  refused  to  do. 

Others  said  that  the  witch  "in  her  shape,"  that 
is,  appearing  to  them  in  a  spiritual  body  invisible 
to  any  save  the  parties  before  whom  she  would 
appear,  boasted  that  she  had  ridden  John  Ely,  hav 
ing  first  changed  him  into  a  horse.  One  testified 
to  seeing  ghosts  of  dead  people,  who  declared  that 
Bridget  Bishop  had  murdered  them. 

While  the  examination  of  the  accused  was  in 
progress,  the  bewitched  seemed  extremely  tortured. 
If  she  turned  her  eyes  on  them,  they  were  struck 
down.  While  they  lay  in  swoons  or  convulsions, 
the  poor  old  woman  was  made  to  touch  them,  and 
they  immediately  sprang  to  their  feet.  fkunuek 
Parris— had — kw — miaione — weH — trained .  On  any 
special  action  of  her  body,  shaking  of  her  head,  or 
the  turning  of  her  eyes,  they  imitated  her  posture 
_  and  seemed  under  some  strange  spell. 

Evidence  was  given  that  one  of  the  bewitched 
\persons  persuaded  a  man    to   strike    at   the    spot 
where  the  "shape  of  this  Bishop  stood,"  and  the 
bewitched  cried  out: 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  333 

"  You  have  tore  her  coat,"  and  it  was  found  that 
the  woman's  dress  was  torn  in  the  very  place. 

Deliverance  Hobbs,  who 'had  confessed  to  being 
a  witch,  now  testified  that  she  was  tormented  by 
the  spectres  for  her  confession.  And  she  now  tes 
tified  that  this  Bishop  tempted  her  to  sign  the  book 
again,  and  to  deny  what  she  had  confessed. 

"It  was  the  shape  of  this  prisoner,"  she  de 
clared,  "which  whipped  me  with  iron  rods,  to 
compel  me  thereunto,  and  I  furthermore  saw 
Bridget  Bishop  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  witches, 
in  a  field  at  Salem  village,  where  they  partook  of 
a  dia.bolical  sacrament  in  bread  and  wine,  then 
administered." 

John  Cook  testified:  "About  five  or  six  years 
ago,  one  morning,  about  sunrise,  I  was  in  my 
chamber  assaulted  by  the  shape  of  this  prisoner, 
which  looked  on  me,  grinned  at  me,  and  very 
much  hurt  me  with  a  blow  on  the  side  of  the  head, 
and  on  the  same  day,  about  noon,  the  same  shape 
walked  into  the  room  where  I  was,  and  an  apple 
strangely  flew  out  of  my  hand." 
^ Samuel  Gray  testified:  "About  fourteen  years 
ago,  I  waked  on  a  night,  and  saw  the  room  where 
in  I  lay  full  of  light.  Then  I  plainly  saw  a  wo 
man,  between  the  cradle  and  the  bedside,  which 
looked  upon  me.  I  rose,  and  it  vanished,  though 
I  found  all  the  doors  fast.  Looking  out  at  the 


334  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

entry  door,  I  saw  the  same  woman,  in  the  same 
garb  again,  and  I  said,  'In  God's  name,  what  do 
you  come  for?7  I  went  to  bed  and  had  the  same 
woman  again  assaulting  me.  The  child  in  the 
cradle  gave  a  great  screech,  and  the  woman  disap 
peared.  It  was  long  before  the  child  could  be 
quieted;  and,  though  it  was  a  very  likely,  thriv 
ing  child,  yet  from  this  time  it  pined  away,  and, 
after  divers  months,  died  in  a  sad  condition.  I 
knew  not  Bishop  then,  nor  her  name;  but  when  I 
saw  her  after  this,  I  knew  her  by  her  countenance 
and  apparel  and  all  circumstances,  that  it  was  the 
apparition  of  this  Bishop,  which  had  thus  troubled 
me." 

ohn  Bly  testified: 

"  I  bought  a  sow  of  Edmund  Bishop,  the  hus 
band  of  the  prisoner,  and  was  to  pay  the  price 
agreed  upon  to  another  person.  This  prisoner, 
being  angry  that  she  was  thus  hindered  from  fin 
gering  the  money,  quarrelled  with  me;  soon  after 
which  the  sow  was  taken  with  strange  fits,  jump 
ing,  leaping  and  knocking  her  head  against  the 
fence.  She  seemed  blind  and  deaf  and  could  not 
eat,  whereupon  my  neighbor  John  Louder  said  he 
believed  the  creature  was  overlooked,  and  there 
were  sundry  other  circumstances  concurred,  which 
made  me  believe  that  Bishop  had  bewitched  it." 

The  examining  magistrates  asked  Bly: 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  335 

"Have  you  ever  been  transformed  by  the  pris 
oner?" 

"I  have,"  Ely  answered. 

"When  was  it?" 

"Last  summer.  One  night,  as  I  was  coming 
home  late,  the  shape  of  the  prisoner  came  at  me. 
She  shook  a  bridle  over  my  head  and  I  became  a 
horse.  Then  she  mounted  me,  rode  me  several 
leagues  and  the  bridle  was  removed,  and  I  lay  in 
my  bed." 

John  Louder,  another  acquaintance  of  Charles 
Stevens,  was  next  called.  John  had  had  his  ex 
perience  with  witches.  He  was  an  ardent  admirer 
of  Mr.  Parris,  and  one  of  his  emissaries.  Louder, 
Ely  and,  in  fact,  all  of  Parris'  tools  were  ignorant, 
bigoted  and  superstitious.  They  could  be  made 
to  believe  anything  the  pastor  would  tell  them. 
Louder  testified: 

"  I  had  some  little  controversy  with  Bishop  about 
her  fowls.  Going  well  to  bed,  I  did  awake  in  the 
night  by  moonlight,  and  did  see  clearly  the  like 
ness  of  this  woman  grievously  oppressing  me;  in 
which  miserable  condition  she  held  me,  unable  to 
help  myself  till  near  day.  I  told  Bishop  of  this; 
but  she  denied  it,  and  threatened  me  very  much. 
Quickly  after  this,  being  at  home  on  a  Lord's  Day, 
with  the  doors  shut  about  me,  I  saw  a  black  pig 
approach  me,  at  which  I,  going  to  kick,  it  vanished 


336  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

away.  Immediately  after  sitting  down,  I  saw  a 
black  thing  jump  in  at  the  window  and  come  and 
stand  before  me.  The  body  was  like  that  of  a 
monkey,  the  feet  like  a  cock's;  but  the  face  was 
much  like  a  man's.  I  was  so  extremely  affrighted, 
that  I  could  not  speak.  This  monster  spoke  to 
me  and  said : 

"'I  am  a  messenger  sent -unto  you,  for  I  under 
stand  that  you  are  in  some  trouble  of  mind,  and  if 
you  be  ruled  by  me,  you  shall  want  for  nothing  in 
this  world.' 

"Whereupon,  I  endeavored  to  clap  my  hands 
upon  it;  but  I  could  feel  no  substance;  and  it 
jumped  out  of  the  window  again;  but  it  immedi 
ately  came  in  by  the  porch,  though  the  doors  were 
shut,  and  said: 

"'You  had  better  take  my  counsel.' 

"Whereupon,  I  struck  at  it  with  my  stick,  but 
struck  only  the  ground-sel,  and  broke  my  stick. 
The  arm  with  which  I  struck  was  presently  disen 
abled,  and  it  vanished  away.  I  presently  went 
out  at  the  porch  door  and  spied  this  Bishop,  in  her 
orchard,  going  toward  her  house;  but  I  had  not 
power  to  set  one  foot  forward  unto  her.  Where 
upon,  returning  into  the  house,  I  was  immediately 
accosted  by  the  monster  I  had  seen  before,  which 
goblin  was  now  going  to  fly  at  me;  whereat  I  did 
cry  out: 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  337 

"'The  whole  armor  of  God  be  between  me 
and  you!' 

"So  it  sprang  back  and  flew  over  the  apple  tree, 
shaking  many  apples  off  the  tree  in  its  flying  over. 
At  its  leap,  it  flung  dirt  with  its  feet  against  my 
stomach,  whereon,  I  was  then  struck  dumb,  and 
so  continued  for  three  days  together. " 

The  records  of  the  case  on  trial  shows  that  Will 
iam  Stacy  testified: 

"  I  received  money  of  this  Bishop  for  work  done 
by  me,  and  I  was  gone  but  a  matter  of  three  rods 
from  her,  when,  looking  for  my  money,  I  found  it 
unaccountably  gone  from  me.  Some  time  after, 
Bishop  asked  me  if  my  father  would  grind  her 
grist  for  her?  I  demanded  why  not? 

"  'Because  folks  count  me  a  witch.' 

"I  answered: 

"  'No  question  but  he  will  grind  for  you.' 

"Being  gone  about  six  rods  from  her,  with  a 
small  load  in  my  cart,  suddenly  the  off  wheel 
stumped  and  sank  down  into  a  hole,  upon  plain 
ground,  so  that  I  was  forced  to  get  help  for  the 
recovering  of  the  wheel;  but,  stepping  back  to 
look  for  the  hole  which  might  give  me  this  disaster, 
there  was  none  at  all  to  be  found.  Some  time 
after,  I  was  waked  in  the  night;  but  it  seemed  as 
light  as  day,  and  I  perfectly  saw  the  shape  of  this 
Bishop  in  the  room,  troubling  me;  but  upon  her 
22 


338  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

going  out,  all  was  dark  again.  When  I  afterward 
charged  Bishop  with  it,  she  did  not  deny  it,  but 
was  very  angry.  Quickly  after  this,  having  been 
threatened  by  Bishop,  as  I  was  again  in  a  dark 
night,  going  to  the  barn,  I  was  very  suddenly 
taken  or  lifted  from  the  ground,  and  thrown  against 
a  stone  wall.  After  that,  I  was  hoisted  up  and 
thrown  down  a  bank,  at  the  end  of  my  house. 
After  this,  again  passing  by  this  Bishop,  my  horse 
with  a  small  load,  striving  to  draw,  all  his  gears 
flew  to  pieces,  and  the  cart  fell  down,  and  I,  going 
to  lift  a  bag  of  corn,  of  about  two  bushels,  could 
not  budge  it." 

The  foregoing  is  a  sample  of  the  testimony  on 
which  people  were  hung.  We  have  given  these, 
that  the  reader  may  see  what  firm  hold  Mr.  Parris 
and  superstition  had  on  the  people.  We  could 
give  page  after  page  of  this  testimony;  but  the 
above  is  sufficient.  If  the  reader  wants  a  fuller 
account  of  the  trials  of  Bishop,  Martin  or  any  of 
the  unfortunates  who  suffered  death  at  Salem  dur 
ing  the  reign  of  superstition,  we  refer  them  to  the 
collections  of  Cotton  Mather  in  his  "Invisible 
World."  From  that  book  we  quote  the  following 
information,  as  elicited  by  the  examination  in  case 
of  Susanna  Martin,  at  Salem,  June  29th,  1692: 

Magistrate. — "Pray,  what  ails  these  people?" 

Martin. — "I  don't  know." 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  339 

Magistrate. — "But  what  do  you  think  of 
them?" 

Martin. — "I  don't  desire  to  spend  my  judgment 
upon  it." 

Magistrate. — "Don't  you  think  they  are  be 
witched?" 

Martin. — "No;  I  do  not  think  they  are." 

Magistrate. — "Tell  us  your  thoughts  about 
them." 

.  Martin. — "No;  my  thoughts  are  my  own,  when 
they  are  inj^but  when  they  are  out,  they  are 
another's.  \Their  master — 

Magistrate. — "Their  master?  Whom  do  you 
think  is  their  master?" 

Martin. — "If  they  be  dealing  in  the  black  art, 
you  may  know  as  well  as  I." 

Magistrate. — "Well,  what  have  you  done  to 
ward  this?" 

Martin. — "Nothing at  all." 

Magistrate. — "Why,  'tis  you,  or  your  appear 
ance." 

Martin. — "I  cannot  help  it." 

Magistrate. — "If  it  be  not  your  master,  how 
comes  your  appearance  to  hurt  these?" 

Martin. — "How  do  I  know?  He  that  appeared 
in  the  shape  of  Samuel,  a  glorified  saint,  may  ap 
pear  in  any  one's  shape." 

No  wonder  that  a  writer  having  occasion  to  ex- 


840  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

amine  into  the  evidence  a  few  years  ago,  and  com 
menting  on  it,  should  exclaim: 

"Great  God!  and  is  this  the  road  our  ancestors 
had  to  travel  in  their  pilgrimage  in  quest  of  free 
dom  and  Christianity?  Are  these  the  misunder 
stood  doctrines  of  total  depravity?" 

Keverend  Mr.  Noyes  seemed  to  rival  Mr.  Parris 
in  the  persecution  of  witches. 

"You  are  a  witch.  You  know  you  are,"  he 
said  to  Sarah  Good,  while  urging  her  to  confession. 

"You  are  a  liar,"  the  poor  woman  replied, 
"and,  if  you  take  my  life,  God  will  give  you  blood 
to  drink." 

Confessions  became  important  in  the  prosecu 
tions.  Some,  not  afflicted  before  confession,  were 
so,  presently,  after  it.  The  jails  were  filled;  for 
fresh  accusations  were  needed  to  confirm  the  con 
fessions.  Mr.  Hale  savs: 

t/ 

"Some,  by  these  their  accusations  of  others, 
hoped  to  gain  time,  and  get  favor  from  the  rulers. 
Some  of  the  inferior  sort  of  people  did  ill  offices, 
by  promising  favor  thereby,  more  than  they  had 
ground  to  engage.  Some,  under  these  temptations, 
regarded  not  as  they  should  what  became  of  others, 
so  that  they  could  thereby  serve  their  own  turns. 
Some  have  since  acknowledged  so  much.  If  the 
confessions  were  contradictory ;  if  witnesses  uttered 
apparent  falsehoods,  'the  Devil,'  the  judges  would 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  341 

say,  'takes  away  their  memory,  and  imposes  on 
their  brain.'  ' 

Who,  under  such  circumstances,  would  dare  to 
be  skeptical,  or  refuse  to  believe  the  confessors? 
Already,  twenty  persons  had  been  put  to  death  for 
witchcraft.  Fifty-five  had  been  tortured  or  terri 
fied  into  penitent  confessions.  With  accusations, 
confessions  increased;  with  confessions,  new  accu 
sations.  Even  "the  generation  of  the  children  of 
God  "  were  in  danger  of  "  falling  under  that  con 
demnation."  The  jails  were  full.  One  hundred 
and  fifty  prisoners  awaited  trial,  two  hundred  more 
were  accused  or  suspected.  It  was  also  observed 
that  no  one  of  the  condemned  confessing  witchcraft 
had  been  hanged.  No  one  that  confessed,  and 
retracted  a  confession,  had  escaped  either  hanging 
or  imprisonment  for  trial.  No  one  of  the  con 
demned  who  asserted  innocence,  even  if  one  of  the 
witnesses  confessed  to  perjury,  or  the  foreman  of 
the  jury  acknowledged  the  error  of  the  verdict, 
escaped  the  gallows.  Favoritism  was  shown  in 
listening  to  accusations,  which  were  turned  aside 
from  friends  or  partisans.  If  a  man  began  a  career 
as  a  witch-hunter,  and,  becoming  convinced  of 
the  imposture,  declined  the  service,  he  was  accused 
and  hanged. 

Samuel  Parris  had  played  a  strong  hand  and  was 
more  than  successful.  His  harvest  of  vengeance 


342  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

seemed  to  have  no  end.  Witches'  Hill  became  a 
Tyburn-hill,  and  as  many  as  eight  were  hung  at 
one  time. 

Matters  had  at  last  gone  too  far.  The  delusion 
reached  its  climax  in  the  midsummer  of  1692,  and 
on  the  second  Wednesday  in  October  following, 
about  a  fortnight  after  the  last  hanging  at  Salem, 
the  representatives  of  the  colony  assembled,  and 
the  people  of  Andover,  their  minister  joining  with 
them,  appeared  with  their  remonstrance  against  the 
doings  of  witch  tribunals. 

"We  know  not,"  they  said,  "who  can  think 
himself  safe,  if  the  accusation  of  children  and 
others  under  a  diabolical  influence  shall  be  re 
ceived  against  persons  of  good  fame."  The  dis 
cussions  which  ensued  were  warm,  for  Mr.  Parris 
had  defenders  even  in  the  legislature,  who  de 
nounced  Charles  and  Hattie  Stevens  "as  murderers 
and  exercisers  of  the  black  art."  The  general 
court  did  not  place  itself  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  advocates  of  the  trials.  It  ordered  by  bill  a 
convocation  of  ministers,  that  the  people  might  be 
led  in  the  right  way.  as  to  the  witchcraft.  The 
reason  for  doing  it  and  the  manner  were  such, 
that  the  judges  of  the  court,  so  wrote  one  of  them, 
"consider  themselves  thereby  dismissed."  As  to 
legislature,  it  adopted  what  King  William  rejected 
— the  English  law,  word  for  word,  as  it  was  en- 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  343 

acted  by  a  house  of  commons,  in  which  Coke  and 
Bacon  were  the  guiding  minds;  but  they  abrogated 
the  special  court,  and  established  a  tribunal  by 
statute.  Phipps  had,  instantly  on  his  arrival, 
employed  his  illegal  court  in  hanging  the  witches. 
The  representatives  of  the  people  delayed  the  first 
assembling  of  the  legal  court  till  January  of  the 
following  year.  Thus  an  interval  of  more  than 
three  months  from  the  last  executions  gave  the 
public  mind  security  and  freedom.  Though  Phipps 
conferred  the  place  of  chief  judge  on  Stoughton, 
yet  jurors,  representing  the  public  mind,  acted 
independently.  When  the  court  met  at  Salem,  six 
women  of  Andover,  at  once  renouncing  their  con 
fessions,  treated  the  witchcraft  but  as  something 
"so  called,"  the  bewildered  but  as  "seemingly 
afflicted. "  A  memorial  of  like  tenor  come  from  the 
inhabitants  of  Andover. 

More  than  one-half  of  the  cases  presented  were 
dismissed;  and,  though  bills  were  found  against 
twenty-six  persons,  the  trials  showed  the  feebleness 
of  the  testimony  on  which  others  had  been  con 
demned.  The  minds  of  the  juries  had  become  en 
lightened,  even  before  the  prejudiced  judges.  The 
same  testimony  was  produced,  and  there  at  Salem, 
with  Stoughton  on  the  bench,  verdicts  of  acquital 
followed. 

One  of  the  parties  acquitted  on  this  occasion  was 


344  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

an  old  acquaintance.  Mr.  Henry  Waters,  who 
had  been  arrested  for  his  brother  and  taken  to  Vir 
ginia,  suddenly  appeared  in  Salem.  John  Louder, 
at  once  cried  out  against  him  and  caused  him  to  be 
arrested.  On  being  arraigned,  he  plead  not  guilty 
and  was  put  on  his  trial.  John  Louder  was  the 
principal  witness.  lie  stated  that  one  day  he  and 
Ely  were  hunting  and  that  defendant  pursued  them 
and  bewitched  their  guns.  Then  he  testified  that 
he  fired  a  silver  bullet  and  wounded  the  defendant. 
He  also  testified  to  his  appearing  before  him  on 
the  evening  he  went  to  stalk  deer,  and  offering  him 
a  book  to  sign.  It  was  known  that  the  accused 
had  suffered  from  a  wound. 

Mr.  Waters  then  proceeded  to  explain: 
"  My  name  is  Henry  Waters,  and,  in  early  life, 
my  brother  and  I  were  players.  We  were  mem 
bers  of  the  Church  of  England  and  detested  the 
Catholic  Religion.  The  end  of  Charles  II.  was 
drawing  near,  and  we  reasoned  that  James  II.,  his 
brother,  would  become  heir  to  the  throne.  Our 
only  hope  was  to  organize  a  strong  party  and  seize 
the  throne  for  the  Duke  of  Monmouth.  I  was  sent 
to  the  American  colonies  to  secure  pledges  of  sup 
port,  and  get  the  names  of  all  who  would  resist 
a  papal  monarch  on  my  book.  I  came,  leaving 
my  brother  and  his  child  in  England.  On  the 
way  here,  I  was  suddenly  fired  upon  by  an  Indian 


SUPERSTITION  REIGNS.  345 

in  ambush  and  wounded  in  the  side.  As  these 
men  were  stalking  a  deer  I  passed  along  and  af 
frighted  the  animal,  so  it  ran  away,  and  I  was  for 
this  accused  of  being  a  wizard." 

He  was  then  asked  by  the  examining  magistrate, 
if  he  did  offer  a  book  to  Mr.  John  Louder  to  sign. 

"I  did,"  he  quickly  answered. 

"When  was  it?" 

"At  the  time  and  place  he  states." 

"What  book  was  it?" 

"I  have  it  here,"  and  he  produced  a  small,  red- 
backed  blank  book.  "  This  has  caused  so  much 
trouble.  Examine  it,  and  you  will  see  it  was  to 
contain  only  the  names  of  those  who  would  resist 
the  accession  of  the  Duke  of  York  to  the  throne." 

The  book  was  passed  around  to  the  Judge  and 
Jury,  and  a  smile  dawned  on  the  face  of  each, 
which  was  dangerous  to  the  friends  of  the  prose 
cution.  That  book  would  have  hung  Henry 
Waters  during  the  reign  of  James  II. ;  but  now  it 
was  his  salvation.  He  was  one  of  the  first  ac 
quitted.  The  delusion  was  on  the  wane.  "  Error 
died  among  its  worshippers." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   WOMAN   IN   BLACK. 

The  greatest  of  thy  follies  is  forgiven, 

Even  for  the  least  of  all  the  tears  that  shine 

On  that  pale  face  of  thine. 
Thou  didst  kneel  down,  to  him  who  came  from  heaven, 

Evil  and  ignorant,  and  thou  shalt  rise, 

Holy,  and  pure,  and  wise. 

— BRYANT. 

CHARLES  STEVENS,  his  mother  and  Cora  and 
her  wounded  father  found  safety  and  shelter  at  the 
home  of  Richard  Stevens  in  Boston.  Richard 
Stevens  was  an  uncle  to  Charles,  and  a  man  past 
middle  life,  but  noted  for  his  practical  common 
sense.  Like  all  others  of  this  noted  family,  he 
never  rose  high  in  either  social  or  political  circles. 
They  were  simply  farmers  or  small  tradesmen,  with 
more  than  average  intelligence,  patriotic  and  honest 
as  their  great  projenitor,  who  came  over  with 
Columbus. 

Richard  Stevens  knew  that  the  delusion  of 
witchcraft  could  not  last.  In  his  house,  which  was 
among  the  best  in  Boston,  save  those  occupied  "by 
346 


THE  WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  347 

the  governors  and  officers,  the  fugitives,  save  Mr. 
Waters,  remained  all  during  the  latter  part  of  1692. 
As  soon  as  his  wound  was  healed,  George  Waters, 
mysteriously  disappeared.  He  reached  Williams- 
burg,  Va.,  just  after  his  brother  was  acquitted. 
He  did  not  meet  with  Henry,  for  he  had  already 
taken  a  ship  for  Boston. 

George  Waters  went  to  Robert  Stevens,  where 
he  made  himself  known  and  learned  of  his  brother's 
acquittal. 

"The  mistake  was  soon  discovered,"  said  Robert 
Stevens;  "  even  before  the  case  came  on  to  be  tried. 
Hearing  that  you  had  been  arrested,  I  went  to  see 
you  and  discovered  that  they  had  the  wrong  man; 
then  I  procured  his  release." 

George  Waters  thanked  Mr.  Stevens  for  what  he 
had  done. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  now?"  asked  Robert. 

"I  shall  return  to  Boston." 

"He  will  never  cease  to  follow  you." 

"No." 

Then  Mr.  Waters  again  became  thoughtful,  and 
Robert  asked: 

"Are  you  going  to  slay  him?" 

"No.     Did  Charles  Stevens  write  to  you?" 

"Yes." 

"Concerning  the  pardon?" 

"He  did." 


348  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"And  have  you  done  everything?" 

"Everything  that  can  be  done." 

"Do  you  bid  me  hope?" 

"Yes." 

That  night  George  Waters  set  out  by  land  to 
return  to  New  England.  It  was  a  formidable 
journey  in  those  days,  and  required  many  weeks. 
There  were  large  rivers  to  be  crossed,  and  he  had 
to  go  to  the  headwaters  before  he  could  swim 
them.  Many  days  and  nights  did  the  lone  trav 
eller  spend  in  the  forest. 

One  afternoon  he  was  suddenly  aware  of  a  man 
pursuing  him.  Instinctively,  he  knew  it  was  his 
enemy  Joel  Martin.  The  man  was  alone,  and 
George  Waters,  who  was  an  expert  marksman, 
could  have  waylaid  and  shot  him.  Martin  came 
to  seek  his  life,  and,  ordinarily,  one  might  say 
that  he  was  fully  justified  in  killing  him.  George 
paused  on  the  crest  of  a  high  hill,  and  with  the 
declining  sun  full  on  him,  watched  the  determined 
pursuer. 

"Joel  Martin  is  a  brave  man,"  thought  Mr. 
Waters.  "He  is  as  brave  as  he  is  revengeful." 

Martin  was  almost  a  mile  away ;  but  he  clearly 
saw  the  figure  of  the  horseman  and  supposed  he 
had  halted  to  challenge  him  to  battle.  Martin 
unslung  his  rifle  and  urged  his  jaded  steed  forward 
at  a  gallop,  waving  his  weapon  in  the  air. 


THE  WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  349 

"I  might  be  tempted  to  do  it,"  George  Waters 
thought,  and  he  took  his  gun  from  his  back,  threw 
it  on  the  ground  and  rode  away. 

Joel  Martin,  who  witnessed  the  strange  proceed 
ing,  was  puzzled  to  know  what  it  meant.  He  came 
up  to  the  gun  of  his  enemy  and  saw  him  riding 
rapidly  across  the  hills  and  rocks. 

"  Now  he  is  at  my  mercy,"  cried  Martin.  "  The 
fool  hath  thrown  away  his  gun  to  increase  his 
speed." 

George  Waters  was  fully  a  mile  ahead  of  Joel 
Martin,  when  he  heard  the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle 
followed  by  the  crack  of  two  or  three  muskets, 
accompanied  by  an  Indian  yell.  Waters  felt  his 
heart  almost  stand  still.  He  sought  shelter  in  a 
dense  thicket  on  the  banks  of  a  stream  to  await  the 
shadows  of  night.  He  wondered  what  had  become 
of  Martin,  and  when  he  heard  the  yells  of  savages 
as  he  frequently  did,  he  asked  himself  if  they  were 
not  torturing  the  unfortunate  prisoner  to  death. 

When  night  came,  he  saw  a  bright  fire  burning 
further  down  the  creek,  and,  leaving  his  horse  tied 
to  a  bush,  the  brave  Englishman  crept  through  the 
woods,  crawling  most  of  the  way.  At  last  he  was 
near  enough  to  see  a  score  of  savages  sitting  about 
a  camp  fire.  Near  by,  tied  to  a  tree  was  the  mis 
erable  Virginian.  Mr.  Waters  saw  that  he  had 
two  wounds,  and  was  no  doubt  suffering  greatly. 


350  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

His  horse  had  been  killed  and  afforded  a  feast 
for  the  savages,  who  evidently  had  not  yet  decided 
the  rider's  fate.  Having  feasted  until  their  stom 
achs  were  overgorged,  the  Indians  laid  down  upon 
the  ground  and  fell  asleep.  Their  prisoner  was 
severely  wounded  and  tied  with  stout  deer-skin 
thongs,  so  that  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  for 
him  to  escape,  and  in  the  heart  of  this  great  wilder 
ness  the  dusky  sons  slept  in  perfect  security. 

George  Waters  crept  up  closer  and  closer  to  the 
prisoner,  and  had  to  actually  crawl  between  two 
sleeping  savages,  to  reach  him;  then  he  slowly 
rose  at  the  feet  of  Martin,  who,  unable  to  sleep  for 
pain,  was  the  only  human  being  in  the  camp  awake. 
The  prisoner  saw  him  approaching,  saw  him  draw 
his  knife,  and  expected  to  be  killed  by  his  enemy; 
but  he  made  no  outcry.  Better  be  stabbed  to  the 
heart  by  George  Waters  than  tortured  by  his  fiend 
ish  captors. 

George  Waters  cut  the  deer-skin  thongs  which 
bound  him  to  the  tree  and,  in  a  whisper,  asked : 

"Can  you  walk?" 

"No." 

"I  will  carry  you." 

He  took  the  wounded  man  on  his  own  broad 
shoulders,  and  carefully  bore  him  from  the  camp. 
Not  a  word  was  said.  Joel  Martin's  tongue  seemed 
suddenly  to  have  become  paralyzed.  George 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  351 

Waters  walked  slowly,  carefully,  and  silently. 
The  Indians  slept.  When  they  were  some  dis 
tance  from  the  camp,  Martin,  entertaining  but  one 
idea  of  Waters'  plan,  said: 

"  You  have  gone  far  enough  with  me.  Stop 
right  here  and  have  it  over  with.  I  shall  make  no 
outcry." 

"  Joel  Martin, you  are  a  brave  man,  I  know, " 

began  Mr.  Waters;  but  Martin  again  interrupted 
him  with: 

"  I  shall  make  no  outcry.  You  have  a  knife  in 
your  belt.  Stab  me,  and  be  done  with  it." 

"I  shall  not." 

"Where  are  you  going  to  take  me?" 

"To  my  horse." 

Martin  grumbled  at  the  useless  delay,  but  suf 
fered  himself  to  be  carried  to  the  horse. 

"Can  you  ride?"  Waters  asked. 

"Yes." 

"  I  will  help  you  to  the  saddle,  and,  if  you  think 
there  is  danger  of  your  falling,  I  can  tie  you." 

He  assisted  the  wounded  man  into  the  saddle 
and  took  the  rein  in  his  hand,  saying,  "Hold,  and 
I  will  lead." 

"  George  Waters,  where  are  you  going  with  me?" 

"To  Virginia." 

"Can  it  be  that  you  intend  to  spare  my  life?" 

"I  have  no  occasion  to  take  it," 


352  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

The  crestfallen  Virginian  said  no  more.  All 
night  long  they  journeyed  through  the  forests  and 
across  plains.  At  dawn  of  day  they  were  among 
the  mountains.  They  rested  and  George  Waters 
kept  watch  over  the  wounded  man  while  he 
slept. 

By  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  they  were  on 
the  march  again.  Mr.  Martin's  wounds  were  in 
flamed  and  sore,  and  he  was  in  a  fever.  Next  day 
they  reached  the  village  of  some  friendly  Indians, 
and  remained  there  two  weeks,  until  the  wounded 
man  was  able  to  proceed.  George  Waters  went 
with  him  until  they  were  in  sight  of  a  village  on 
the  upper  James  River. 

"I  can  go  no  further,  Mr.  Martin,"  said  George 
Waters. 

"I  understand,"  he  returned,  dismounting  from 
the  saddle. 

"Can  you  make  your  way  to  those  houses?" 

"Yes." 

"I  will  take  you  nearer,  if  necessary." 

"It  is  not." 

George  Waters  cut  two  stout  sticks  with  forks 
to  place  under  his  arms  as  crutches.  Martin 
watched  his  acts  of  kindness,  while  a  softer  expres 
sion  came  over  his  face.  He  was  about  to  go 
away,  but  turned  about  and,  seizing  Waters  by 
the  hand,  cried: 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK. 


353 


" God  bless  you !     You  are  a  man!" 

Not  willing  to  risk  himself  further  he  turned 
away,  and  George  Waters  re-entered  the  forest. 
He  reached  Boston  early  in  1692,  just  after  the 
acquittal  of  his  brother  and  others  of  the  charge 
of  witchcraft. 

Everybody  realizing  that  the  madness  had  run 
its  course,  Charles  Stevens  and  his  mother  went 
back  to  their  home  at  Salem, 
confident  that  they  need  fear  . 
no    more   persecutions    from    -o? 
Parris,  whose  pow 
er  was  gone. 

Next  day  after 
his  arrival,  while 
going  down  a  lone 
ly  path  near  the 
village  Charles 
suddenly  came  up 
on  Sarah  Williams. 
Her  eyes  were  blaz-  GEORGE  WATERS  CUT  TWO  STOUT  STICKS 
ing  with  the  fires 
of  hope,  fanaticism  and  disappointed  pride. 

"Charles!  Charles!"  she  cried.  "Nay,  do  not 
turn  away  from  me,  for,  as  Heaven  is  my  witness, 
I  did  not  have  your  mother  cried  out  upon!'1 

"  Sarah  Williams,  I  am  as  willing  as  any  to  for 
get  the  past,  or,  if  remember  it  I  must,  only  think 
23 


354  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

of  it  as  a  hideous  nightmare  from  which,  thanks  to 
Providence,  we  have  escaped  forever." 

"Charles,  let  us  be  friends." 

"Far  be  it  from  me  to  be  your  enemy,  Sarali 
Williams." 

"Can  you  not  be  more,  Charles?"  said  the  hand 
some  widow,  her  dark  eyes  on  the  ground,  while 
her  cheek  became  suffused  with  a  blush. 

"What  mean  you,  Sarah  Williams?" 

"You  used  to  love  me." 

The  young  man  started  and  said : 

"You  mistake." 

"I  do  not.  You  told  me  you  did  in  the  pres 
ence  of  Abigail  Williams.  At  the  same  time  you 
confessed  to  killing  Samuel  Williams  in  order  to 
wed  rne." 

Charles  Stevens  was  thunderstruck,  and  could 
only  gaze  in  amazement  on  the  bold,  unscrupulous 
woman,  who  had  trained  under  Parris,  until  she 
was  capable  of  almsost  any  deception  to  carry  her 
point. 

"Sarah  Williams,  what  you  say  is  a  lie!"  he 
declared,  in  a  voice  hoarse  with  amazement  and 
indignation. 

"We  shall  see!  We  shall  see!"  she  answered, 
in  a  hoarse,  shrill  voice.  "I  will  prove  it.  See, 
I  will  prove  it  and  hang  you  yet.  Beware!  I  do 
not  charge  you  with  witchcraft,  but  with  murder. 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  355 

Either  take  the  place  you  made  vacant  by  the  death 
of  Samuel  Williams,  or  hang!" 

As  least  of  the  two  evils,  Charles  Stevens  inti 
mated  he  preferred  to  hang,  and,  turning  abruptly 
about,  he  left  her.  Next  day  he  was  met  by  Ely 
and  Louder  in  the  village,  who  interrogated  him 
on  his  recent  trouble  with  Sarah  Williams  about 
the  dead  husband.  Knowing  both  to  be  outra 
geous  liars,  and  unscrupulous  as  they  were  bold,  he 
sought  to  avoid  them;  but  they  followed  him 
everywhere  and  interrogated  him,  until  he  was 
utterly  disgusted  and  finally  broke  away  and  went 
home. 

Charles  Stevens  did  not  tell  his  mother  of  the 
threat  of  Sarah  Williams,  for  he  considered  it  too 
absurd  to  notice.  Three  or  four  days  later,  when 
he  had  almost  ceased  to  think  of  the  matter,  he 
and  his  mother  were  startled  from  their  supper,  by 
hearing  a  loud  knock  at  the  front  door. 

"Sit  you  still,  Charles,  and  I  will  go  and  see 
who  this  late  visitor  is." 

She  rose  and  went  to  the  door  and  opened  it. 

Three  or  four  dark  forms  stood  without. 

"Is  Charles  Stevens  in?"  asked  one. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"I  want  to  see  him." 

"Who  are  you?" 

"Don't  you  know  me,  Hattie  Stevens?     I  am 


356  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

the  sheriff,"  said  the  speaker  boldly,  as  he,  unbid 
den,  entered  the  house. 

"You  the  sheriff!     What  can  you  want  here?" 

Turning  to  the  men  without,  he  said  in  an  un 
dertone: 

"Guard  the  doors." 

The  dumfounded  mother  repeated: 

"You  the  sheriff!     What  do  you  want  here?" 

"  I  want  to  see  that  precious  son  of  yours,  widow 
Stevens,  and  I  trow  he  will  guess  the  object  of 
my  visit." 

"My  son!  Surely  he  hath  done  no  wrong. 
He  hath  broken  no  law." 

"Where  is  he?" 

The  voice  of  the  sheriff  was  pitched  considera 
bly  above  the  ordinary  key,  and  Charles  Stevens, 
hearing  it  in  the  kitchen,  became  alarmed,  and 
hastened  into  the  front  apartment,  saying: 

"I  am  here.     Is  it  me  you  want  to  see?" 

"Yes,  Charles  Stevens,  I  arrest  you  in  the  king's 
name." 

"Arrest  me?  Marry!  what  offence  have  I 
done  that  I  should  be  arrested  by  the  king's 
officers?" 

"It  is  murder!"  he  answered. 

"Murder!"  shrieked  both  the  mother  and  son. 

"Verily,  it  is,"  answered  the  sheriff.  Then  he 
produced  a  warrant  issued  on  the  complaint  of 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  357 

Sarah  Williams,  charging  Charles  Stevens  with  the 
murder  of  one  Samuel  Williams. 

Charles  could  scarcely  believe  his  ears,  when  he 
heard  the  warrant  read.  He  had  for  a  long  time 
known  Sarah  Williams  to  be  a  bold,  scheming 
woman;  but  that  she  would  proceed  to  such  a  bold, 
desperate  measure  as  this  seemed  impossible. 

"I  am  innocent!"  he  declared,  while  his  mother 
sank  into  a  chair  and  buried  her  face  in  her  hands. 

"  It  is  ever  thus.  The  most  guilty  wretch  on 
earth  is  innocent  according  to  his  tell,"  the  sheriff 
answered. 

Charles  Stevens  besought  the  man  not  to  confine 
him  in  jail,  but  was  told  there  was  no  help  for  it, 
and  he  was  hurried  away  to  prison,  leaving  his 
mother  overcome  with  grief  in  her  chair. 

It  was  some  days  before  the  news  of  Charles 
Stevens'  arrest  reached  Boston.  The  prosecution 
was  i  nterested  in  keeping  the  matter  from  the  friends 
of  the  accused,  for  the  Stevens  family  were  known 
to  have  many  friends  in  high  places  in  the  colonies, 
and  they  might  interfere  in  the  coming  trial. 

Cora  Waters  lived  for  weeks  in  ignorance  of  the 
peril  of  the  man  she  loved.  Her  father  had  come 
home,  her  uncle  was  with  them  again,  and  she  was 
almost  happy.  Poor  child  of  misfortune,  she  had 
never  known  real  happiness. 


358  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Bleak  winter  was  taking  his  departure  and  a 
smiling  spring  promised  to  be  New  England's 
guest.  Hope  and  peace  and  newness  of  life  al 
ways  come  with  spring.  Spring  gladdens  the  heart 
and  rejuvenates  the  aged. 

One  morning,  while  the  frosty  breath  of  winter 
yet  lingered  on  the  air,  Cora  Waters,  who  was  an 
early  riser,  saw  a  large  ship  entering  the  harboi. 
The  wind  was  dead  against  the  vessel;  but  she  was 
skillfully  handled  and  tacked  this  way  and  that 
and  gradually  worked  her  way  into  the  harbor.  A 
wreath  of  smoke  from  one  of  her  ports  was  followed 
by  the  heavy  report  of  a  cannon,  which  salute  was 
answered  by  a  shot  from  the  shore. 

"The  ship  will  soon  be  in,"  the  girl  declared. 
"I  will  go  and  see  it." 

In  small  seaport  towns,  such  as  Boston  was  at 
that  day,  the  appearance  of  a  ship  caused  as  much 
excitement  as  the  arrival  of  a  train  on  a  new  rail 
road  in  a  western  village  does  to-day.  Many  peo 
ple  were  hastening  down  to  the  beach  where  the 
boat  would  bring  in  passengers.  Some  were  ex 
pecting  friends.  Others  had  letters  from  loved 
ones  across  the  sea;  but  Cora  had  no  such  excuse. 
It  was  simply  girlish  curiosity  which  induced  her 
to  go  with  the  crowd  to  the  beach. 

Boats  had  been  lowered  from  the  vessel,  which, 
having  no  deck,  could  not  get  into  shore  and  was 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  359 

forced  to  cast  anchor  some  distance  off.  The  boats, 
filled  with  passengers,  were  rowed  ashore. 

Cora  stood  with  a  careless,  idle  air  gazing  on  the 
gentlemen  and  ladies  as  they  disembarked.  None 
specially  excited  her  interest.  Many  were  there 
greeting  relatives  and  friends;  but  she  had  no 
friend  or  relative,  and  what  were  all  those  people 
to  her? 

She  was  about  to  turn  away,  when  a  face  and 
pair  of  dark-blue  eyes  attracted  her  attention.  She 
involuntarily  started  and  stared  impudently  at  the 
stranger,  her  heart  beating,  and  her  breath  coming 
in  short  quick  gasps. 

"That  face — that  face!  I  have  seen  in  my 
dreams!"  she  thought. 

It  was  the  pale  face  of  a  woman,  still  beautiful, 
although  her  features  showed  lines  of  suffering  and 
anxiety.  She  was  dressed  in  black  from  head  to 
foot,  and  a  veil  of  jet  black  was  wound  round  her 
head.  For  a  few  moments,  she  stood  looking 
about  and  then  came  directly  to  Cora  and 
asked : 

"Young  maid,  do  you  live  in  this  town?" 

"I  do,  for  the  present,"  Cora  answered,  though 
she  instinctively  trembled,  for  that  voice,  too, 
sounded  like  a  long-forgotten  dream.  What  strange 
spell  was  this  which  possessed  her?  The  woman 
asked : 


360  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"Can  you  direct  me  to  a  house  of  public  enter 
tainment?" 

"Come  with  me." 

Cora  knew  that  the  lady  had  suffered  with  sea 
sickness,  and  was  anxious  to  reach  land.  She 
hastened  with  her  to  a  public  house  kept  by  a 
widow  Stevens,  whose  husband  was  a  distant 
relative  of  Charles.  As  they  walked  up  the  hill 
toward  the  house,  the  woman  continued  to  ply  Cora 
with  questions: 

"Are  you  a  native  of  America?"  she  asked. 

"No." 

"England  is  your  birth-place?" 

"It  is." 

"Have  you  been  long  here?" 

"I  was  quite  a  child  when  I  came,"  she  an 
swered. 

"Have  you  lived  a  long  while  in  this  town?" 

"Only  a  few  months,"  she  answered. 

They  had  nearly  reached  their  destination,  when 
Cora  saw  her  father  coming  toward  them.  At  sight 
of  his  daughter's  companion,  the  face  of  the  father 
became  white  as  death,  and,  bounding  forward, 
he  pulled  her  aside,  saying: 

"No,  no!  Cora,  you  shall  not  go  another  step 
with  her!" 

At  sound  of  his  voice,  the  woman  in  black  seized 
his  arm  and  cried: 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  361 

"George!   George!  George!" 

"Away!   away!" 

"No,  no!  Now  that  I  have  found  you,  I  will 
not  let  you  go.  You  may  kill  me,  cut  off  my 
hands,  and  still  the  fingers  will  cling  to  you.  Oh, 
God !  I  thank  thee,  that,  after  so  many  years,  thou 
hast  answered  my  prayers!" 

"Woman,  release  me!" 

"George!  George!" 

Cora  was  lost  in  a  maze  of  bewilderment.  She 
was  conscious  of  the  strange  woman  in  black  clutch 
ing  her  father's  arm  and  calling  him  George,  while 
he  strove  to  drive  her  away. 

A  great  throng  of  people  gathered  about  them. 
Mr.  Waters  became  rude  in  his  efforts  to  break 
away.  At  last  he  flung  her  off,  and  she  fell,  her 
forehead  striking  on  the  sharp  corner  of  a  stone, 
which  started  the  blood  trickling  down  her  fair 
white  brow.  The  woman  swooned.  Sight  of  blood 
touched  the  heart  of  George  Waters,  and,  stooping, 
he  raised  the  inanimate  form  in  his  arms,  as  ten 
derly  as  if  she  had  been  an  infant,  and  bore  her  to 
a  public  house  and  a  private  room. „ 

When  the  woman  in  black  recovered  conscious 
ness,  she  and  George  Waters  were  alone,  and  he 
was  tenderly  dressing  the  wound  he  had  made. 

"George,"  she  said  with  a  smile,  "you  will 
let  me  talk  with  you  now?" 


362  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM 

"Yes." 

"George,  you  believed  me  guilty  when  you 
abandoned  me  at  Edinburgh?" 

"Yes." 

"You  do  yet?" 

"I  do." 

"George,  Joseph  Swartz  told  you  a  falsehood." 

"  No,  no,  woman,  do  not— < — 

"Hold,  George;  let  me  show  you  his  dying  con 
fession.  Let  me  show  you  the  testimony  of  a 
priest." 

She  took  up  a  small,  red  leather  bag,  such  as 
was  used  in  those  days  by  ladies,  undid  the  strings 
and,  opening  it,  drew  forth  some  papers,  which 
she  handed  to  him. 

"Do  you  know  the  writing?"  she  asked. 

"This  is  Joseph  Swartz,  my  best  and  truest 
friend." 

"No,  no;  read  his  death-bed  confession,  and 
you  will  see  he  was  your  malignant  foe." 

He  read  the  paper  through,  and  his  hands  trem 
bled  with  excitement,  astonishment  and  rage.  He 
was  about  to  say  something,  when  she  interrupted 
him  with: 

"No,  no;  don't,  don't,  George.  He  is  dead — 
let  us  forgive.  If  you  want  more  proof,  I  have  it. 
See  Father  Healey's  statement.  He  took  Joseph 
Swartz's  confession." 


THE   WOMAN  IN  BLACK.  363 

Glancing  at  the  paper,  he  threw  it  aside  and 
cried : 

"Honore!  Honore!  Forgive  me!  I  should 
have  believed  you,  not  him.  I  stole  jour  child 
and,  like  a  foolish  man,  ran  away,  without  ques 
tioning  you." 

"I  have  been  sixteen  years  seeking  these  proofs. 
I  would  not  have  come  without  them.  You  are  for 
given,  for,  now  that  you  have  the  proof,  you 
believe." 

When  George  Waters  went  out  of  the  room,  he 
was  met  by  his  daughter,  Cora,  who  asked: 

"Father,  who  is  she — the  woman  in  black?" 

"An  angel — your  mother!" 

"May  I  see  her?" 

"Yes,  at  once,"  and  he  led  her  to  the  apartment. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

CONCLUSION. 

How  calm,  how  beautiful  comes  on 
The  stilly  hour,  when  storms  are  gone  ; 
When  warring  winds  have  died  away, 
And  clouds,  beneath  the  glancing  ray, 
Melt  off,  and  leave  the  land  and  sea 
Sleeping  in  bright  tranquillity, 
Fresh  as  if  day  again  were  born, 
Again  upon  the  lap  of  Morn. 

— MOORE. 

IN  his  dungeon  cell,  Charles  Stevens  learned 
that  the  veil  of  mystery  which,  like  a  threatening 
cloud,  had  enshrouded  the  life  of  Cora  Waters  was 
lifted,  and  the  sunlight,  for  the  first  time,  streamed 
upon  her  soul.  She  knew  a  mother's  love.  Her 
parents,  estranged  since  her  infancy,  were  again 
united.  Such  incidents  are  told  in  song  and  story, 
but  are  seldom  known  in  reality.  Charles  heard 
the  story  in  all  its  details  related  by  his  mother  on 
one  of  her  visits.  He  also  learned  th.it  the  colony 
of  Virginia,  by  royal  sanction,  had  granted  a  par 
don  to  Mr.  George  Waters  for  the  "  death  of  one 
James  Martin,  late  overseer  to  Thomas  Hull." 
364 


CONCLUSION.  365 

"I  am  glad  they  are  happy,  mother,"  the  un 
happy  prisoner  said. 

"  It  is  the  reward  which  in  the  end  awaits  the 
just,"  she  said. 

"They  have  forgotten  me." 

"Charles,  why  say  you  that?" 

"Had  not  Cora  Waters  forgotten  me,  surely  she 
would  have  visited  me  while  sick  and  in  prison." 

"They  have  just  heard  of  it,"  she  answered. 

"Just  heard  of  it!"  he  repeated,  amazed.  "I 
have  lain  here  pining  in  this  dungeon  for  three 
long  weeks,  and  you  tell  me  they  have  but  just 
heard  of  it." 

"I  am  assured  they  have." 

"  Mother,  that  seems  impossible.  Why,  I  thought 
all  the  world  knew  it." 

"But  few  know  of  it,  my  son.  It  seems  to  be 
the  scheme  of  the  prosecution  to  keep  the  matter 
secret.  You  have  not  written.  You  have  sent  no 
message?" 

"No,  mother." 

"Then,  pray,  how  could  they  learn  of  it  save  by 
the  merest  accident?  A  passing  stranger  bore  the 
news." 

Charles  Stevens  heaved  a  sigh. 

"Perhaps  'tis  so;  but  it  seemed  that  my  groans 
and  sighs  must  be  heard  round  the  world,  yet 
neither  Cora  Waters  nor  Adelpha  Leisler,  at  whose 


366  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

side  I  stood  a  comforter  in  the  dark  hours  of 
trouble,  has  seen  fit  to  offer  me  one  word  of  con 
solation." 

"I  trow,  Charles,  that  Adelpha  knows  it  not. 
Cora  is  coming." 

"Who  hath  told  you?" 

"A  friend  from  Boston  brings  information  that 
the  Waters  brothers,  with  the  newly  found  wife 
and  mother  and  Cora,  are  coming  to  Salem  to  do 
all  in  their  power  to  aid  you." 

Charles  sadly  shook  his  head  and  said : 

"My  poor  friends  can  do  nothing  for  me." 

"  They  can  at  least  offer  you  consolation  and 
comfort." 

"Yes;  but  what  more?" 

"That  is  much." 

"True;  and  I  will  appreciate  it.  I  could  not 
think  that  Cora  would  forget  me.  Neither  would 
Adelpha,  if  she  knew." 

His  mother  after  waiting  some  time  for  her  son 
to  resume,  at  last  said: 

"Charles,  if  your  choice  were  left  you,  which  of 
the  two,  Adelpha  or  Cora,  would  you  wed?" 

Charles,  smiling,  answered: 

"Mother,  it  is  not  for  one  living  within  the 
shadow  of  the  scaffold  to  think  of  marriage." 

"Charles,  can  you  really  think  your  case  so 
serious?" 


CONCLUSION.  367 

"I  do  mother.     I  know  it." 

"Oh,  Charles,  surely  they  will  not  condemn 
you!  They  have  no  proof.  You  are  innocent." 

"I  am  innocent,  mother;  but  that  is  no  reason 
that  evidence  will  not  be  produced  against  me." 

"Yet  it  will  be  false." 

"  False,  of  course;  yet  many  have  been  hung  on 
testimony  false  as  Satan  himself." 

"Oh,  Charles,  what  shall  we  do?" 

"Trust  in  the  Lord,  mother.  When  all  earthly 
help  is  gone,  we  can  only  look  to  God  for  aid.  I 
have  prayed  to  him  that,  if  it  be  his  will,  this  cup 
might  pass;  yet  his  will,  not  mine,  be  done.  If  I 
must  die  a  martyr  to  that  woman's  falsehood,  I 
pray  he  may  give  me  sufficient  strength  to  endure 
the  trial." 

The  mother  fell  on  the  neck  of  her  son,  crying: 

"You  shall  not  die!     Oh,  my  son!  my  son!" 

Charles  comforted  his  mother  as  well  as  he  could, 
and  she  took  her  leave.  All  was  dark  and  gloomy. 
He  knew  that  malice  and  hatred  pursued  him, 
caught  his  throat  and  would  not  let  go  its  hold, 
until  it  dragged  him  to  death.  He  was  buried  in 
the  midst  of  his  gloomy  reflections,  when  the  door 
of  his  cell  opened,  and  a  jailer,  entering,  said: 

"Another  visitor  for  you,  Charles  Stevens." 

"Another  visitor?     Who  can  it  be?"  he  asked. 

"It  is  I,"  and  Samuel  Parris  entered. 


868  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

For  a  moment,  Charles  Stevens  was  struck  dumb 
at  the  audacity  of  the  pastor  of  Salem  in  ventur 
ing  to  enter  the  cell  of  one  whom  he  had  wronged. 
Though  the  power  of  Mr.  Parris  was  on  the  wane, 
it  was  not  wholly  gone.  He  took  advantage  of 
the  confusion  of  Charles  Stevens  to  signal  the  jailer 
to  leave  them,  and  he  went  out,  closing  the  iron 
door  behind  him.  Folding  his  arms  on  his  breast, 
Parris  gazed  on  the  prisoner. 

Charles  Stevens,  about  whose  waist  was  a  thick 
belt  of  leather,  fastened  by  a  chain  to  the  wall, 
sat  on  a  miserable  cot,  his  face  bowed  in  his  hands. 
He  did  not  look  up  at  the  white,  cadaverous  face 
and  great,  blazing  orbs,  which  gleamed  with  fury 
upon  him,  although  he  knew  full  well  that  those 
eyes  were  on  him. 

"Charles!"  the  deep  sepulchral  voice  at  last 
spoke. 

"Well?" 

"Look  up." 

With  a  sigh,  the  young  prisoner  raised  his  head. 
Every  movement  he  made  was  accompanied  by  the 
rattling  of  chains. 

"  Charles,  you  will  not  believe  me,  when  I  tell 
you  I  am  sorry  for  this. " 

"No;  I  will  not." 

"  Nevertheless,  I  am.  Charles  Stevens,  you  do 
not  know  me;  the  world  misjudges  me,  and  all 


CONCLUSION.  369 

future  generations  will  do  the  same.  Some  things 
which  I  have  done  may  seem  harsh;  yet  I  was 
commanded  of  Heaven  to  do  them." 

"  Samuel  Parris,  if  you  have  come  to  upbraid 
me,  to  gloat  over  my  captivity  and  add  to  my 
misery,  do  so.  I  am  powerless  and  cannot  resist 
you;  but  I  do  entreat  you  not  to  blaspheme  your 
Maker." 

The  great  eyes  of  Parris  gleamed  with  sullen 
fire;  his  thin  lips  parted;  his  breath  came  short 
and  quick,  and  for  a  few  moments  he  was  unable 
to  answer.  At  last,  becoming  calmer,  he  said,  in 
his  deep  sepulchral  voice: 

"Charles,  you  do  not  like  me?" 

"I  confess  it." 

"  I  have  rebuked  you  for  your  sinful  associa 
tions,  and  the  wicked  dislike  rebuke.  The  devils 
said  to  the  Saviour,  when  he  would  cast  them  out, 
'Let  us  alone;  we  have  naught  to  do  with  thee. ' 
Everywhere  in  this  life,  the  sinner  says,  'Leave 
me  alone,'  yet  it  is  my  calling  to  go  forth  and 
snatch  brands  from  the  burning.  Charles,  why 
will  you  not  denounce  the  child  of  that  player?" 

"She  hath  done  no  wrong." 

"Do  you  love  her?" 

"That  is  a  question  you  have  no  right  to  ask, 
or  expect  me  to  answer." 

"I  have  read  it  in  your  heart." 
24 


370  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

"I  have  no  answer." 

"  What  have  you  to  say  in  extenuation  of  your 
conduct  hitherto?" 

"Nothing." 

"Why  did  you  return  to  Salem?" 

"It  is  my  home." 

"Did  you  anticipate  this  accusation?" 

"No." 

"And  what  do  you  expect  now?" 

"Death." 

"Have  you  no  hope  of  escaping?" 

"None." 

"But  you  seem  calm  and  collected." 

"Why  should  I  not?" 

"  Most  men  fear  death." 

"True." 

"And  do  not  you?" 

"I  would  rather  live." 

"  What  would  you  consent  to  do  to  save  your 
life?" 

"  Nothing  dishonorable. " 

"  What  I  am  about  to  propose  is  by  no  means 
dishonorable,  but  honorable  and  fair  in  every  par 
ticular." 

"Proceed." 

"  You  are  charged  with  the  death  of  Samuel 
Williams.  Whether  you  be  guilty  or  not,  it  is 
quite  clear  that  Williams  is  dead.  Now  it  is  the 


'CHARLES  STEVENS,  DO  YOU  SEEK  DEATH?' 


CONCLUSION.  371 

duty  of  some  one  to  care  for  the  widow.     She  is 
young " 

"Hold,  Mr.  Parris!  If  you  are  going  to  pro 
pose  that  I  shall  wed  Sarah  Williams,  spare  your 
words;  I  will  not." 

"Charles  Stevens,  do  you  seek  death?" 

"None  should  wed  where  the  heart  is  not. 
That  bold,  unscrupulous  woman  has  already  won 
my  contempt." 

"Have  a  care!" 

"Go  tell  her  that  Charles  Stevens  prefers  death 
on  the  gibbet  to  becoming  her  husband. " 

Mr.  Parris  gazed  on  the  helpless  prisoner  for 
several  minutes,  his  thin  lips  curled  with  a  sneer 
ing  smile. 

"Charles  Stevens,"  he  said  in  low  measured 
tones,  "you  are  a  fool.  Do  you  know  what  it  is 
to  die?  Have  you  counted  the  cost  of  a  leap  in 
the  dark?" 

"No  sane  man  courts  death;  yet  to  the  Chris 
tian,  who  hath  kept  God's  commands,  the  monster 
is  robbed  of  half  his  terrors.  God  has  wisely  con 
stituted  us  so  that  we  dread  death.  If  we  did  not, 
we  would  not  be  willing  to  endure  the  misfortunes, 
disappointments  and  ills  which  afflict  us  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave;  but  the  Christian  can  say  wel 
come  to  death  in  preference  to  dishonor.  I  thank 
my  God,  Samuel  Parris,  that  I  can,  with  the 


372  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

prophets  of  old,  say,  O,  grave,  where  is  thy  vic 
tory?" 

"Charles  Stevens,  have  you  ever  thought  that, 
after  all,  this,  too,  may  be  a  delusion?  That  the 
Bible  may  be  only  the  uninspired  work  of  man, 
and  that  there  may  be  no  beyond — no  God,  save  in 
nature?" 

"So  you  have  turned  atheist?"  cried  Charles. 
"Perhaps  you  have  been  one  all  along?" 

"Charles  Stevens,  one  cannot  help  their  doubts." 

"  One  need  not  be  a  hypocrite,  Mr.  Parris.  One 
can  even  drive  doubts  away.  The  true  Christian 
never  doubts  and  never  fears.  Pray  for  faith, 
have  faith  in  your  prayers,  believe  and  ask  God  to 
help  your  unbelief,  and  doubts  will  disappear." 

"Charles,  you  are  too  young,  too  wise  to  die. 
Accept  Sarah  Williams  and  live." 

"Never!    Away,  hypocrite!    Schemer,  begone!" 

The  pastor,  quite  humbled,  turned  and  went 
from  the  prison.  There  was  a  malignant  gleam  in 
his  great  wicked  eyes,  which  boded  the  unfortunate 
prisoner  no  good. 

For  several  weeks  longer,  Charles  Stevens  lan 
guished  in  prison.  Cora,  her  father  and  mother 
came  to  Salem  and  visited  him.  When  Cora 
Waters  gazed  on  the  young  man,  from  whom  she 
had  parted  a  few  weeks  before  in  the  full  vigor  of 
his  young  life  and  streng'th,  and  saw  him  emaci- 


CONCLUSION.  373 

ated,  weak  and  pale,  so  that  she  scarcely  knew 
him,  she  broke  down  and  wept.  The  two  were 
left  alone  in  the  cell.  Then  Charles  told  her  how 
uncertain  were  his  chances  of  life,  and  how  im 
pending  his  prospects  of  death.  He  could  not 
quit  this  life  without  telling  her  that  he  loved  her, 
and  that  he  wished  to  live  to  make  her  his  wife. 
Though  that  pleasure  was  forever  denied  him,  it 
would  make  his  last  days  more  agreeable  to  know 
that  his  love  was  returned. 

What  answer  could  she  make?  She,  whose 
fondest  hope  this  had  been,  said  nothing;  but, 
with  heart  overflowing,  she  threw  her  arms  about 
the  prisoner  and  burst  into  tears.  Had  she  won 
him  only  to  lose  him?  Was  he  to  be  snatched 
from  her  side  at  the  very  moment  that  she  found 
him  her  own? 

"No,  no,  no!  they  shall  not!  they  shall  not!" 
she  sobbed. 

From  that  day,  Cora  shared  the  imprisonment  of 
her  lover,  so  far  as  the  jailer  would  permit.  She 
added  to  his  comfort  and  assured  him  that  her 
undying  love  would  follow  him  to  the  grave. 
Their  hopes  rose  and  sank  as  the  day  of  trial  drew 
near. 

The  fatal  day  came  at  last,  and  Charles  was  ar 
raigned  before  the  court  of  oyer  and  terminer  on 
charge  of  the  murder  of  one  Samuel  Williams. 


374  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

He  plead  not  guilty  and  made  every  preparation 
for  defense.  .  It  was  like  fighting  a  masked  bat 
tery;  for  they  knew  not  what  the  evidence  would 
be  against  them.  The  trial  opened,  and  Sarah 
Williams,  to  make  the  scene  more  effective,  came 
dressed  in  black  and  looking  very  pale.  She  was 
called  to  the  stand  and,  between  tears  and  sobs, 
told  her  sad  story  of  how  her  loving  husband  had 
one  day  quarrelled  with  the  defendant,  and  the 
latter  had  threatened  him.  Was  any  one  else 
present?  Yes.  John  Ely  and  Mr.  Louder  were 
both  present  when  he  threatened  to  kill  her  hus 
band.  Charles  Stevens  remembered  having  a  slight 
altercation  when  he  was  quite  a  boy  with  Mr.  Will 
iams;  but  it  was  such  a  trivial  matter  that  he  had 
forgotten  it  till  now.  Then  she  told  that  her 
loving  husband  feared  he  would  be  slain  by  Charles 
Stevens,  and  that  he  went  away  to  New  York  city 
on  a  voyage,  and  that  the  same  day  Charles 
Stevens  had  come  to  her  house,  and  had  asked  her 
whither  her  husband  had  gone,  and  she  had  every 
evidence  to  believe  he  went  after  him. 

There  were  other  witnesses,  who  swore  that  about 
this  time  Charles  Stevens  left  the  town  and  was 
gone  away  for  some  time.  Charles  remembered 
that  on  that  occasion  he  had  taken  a  journey  to 
Rhode  Island. 

Then  came  two  strangers,  evidently  sea-faring 


CONCLUSION.  375 

men,  of  the  lowest  order.  They  were  brutal,  un 
scrupulous  and  had  lived  the  lives  of  buccaneers, 
as  was  afterward  proved.  Both  swore  that  they 
knew  defendant,  although  he  had  never  seen  either 
before.  They  saw  the  defendant  slay  Samuel  Will 
iams  on  Long  Island,  near  the  beach,  and  both 
gave  a  graphic  account  of  his  dragging  the  body 
along  the  sand  and  hurling  it  into  the  water,  where 
the  tide  bore  it  away.  Their  statements  were  cor 
roborative. 

Ely  and  Louder  were  next  produced,  who  gave 
evidence  that  the  defendant  had  confessed  to  them 
that  he  had  slain  Samuel  Williams,  and  that  de 
fendant  was  greatly  enamored  of  the  murdered 
man's  wife. 

Mr.  Parris  and  others  testified  to  having  seen 
him  in  the  company  of  Sarah  Williams  on  divers 
of  times,  and  that  he  had  shown  great  fondness 
for  her. 

"What  have  you  to  say  to  this  evidence?" 
asked  the  chief  justice  to  the  prisoner. 

"I  can  only  say  they  are  all  grievous  liars." 

"The  jury  will  take  notice  how  the  defendant 
assaults  men  of  unquestioned  character.  Even  the 
minister  is  assailed." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  discontent,  in  which 
even  some  of  the  jury  joined. 

Judges,  jury  and  prosecutors  were  all  against 


376  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

Charles,  and  his  trial  must  result  in  conviction. 
The  people  were  excited  at  the  dastardly  murder, 
and  began  to  complain  at  the  delay  in  the  trial, 
which  wore  tediously  on  day  after  day  for  nearly 
a  week. 

At  last  the  evidence  was  all  in,  and  the  last 
argument  made.  There  was  everything  against  the 
prisoner.  The  prosecution  had  been  so  skillfully 
planned  and  executed,  that  there  could  be  but  one 
result.  Charles  Stevens  was  very  calm,  while 
Cora  was  carried  away  in  a  fainting  condition. 
Mr.  Waters  went  to  the  prisoner  to  speak  with  him. 

Charles'  face  was  white  as  death ;  but  his  mind 
was  clear  and  showed  not  the  least  agitation. 

"There  can  be  but  one  result,"  the  prisoner  said. 
"An  acquittal  is  impossible.  Be  good  to  Cora 
and  mother,  and  keep  them  both  away  on  that  day. 
It  would  be  too  much  for  them.  They  would  not 
forget  it  to  their  dying  hour." 

Mr.  Waters  assured  him  that  his  last  requests 
should  be  granted,  and  spoke  a  few  words  of  con 
solation  and  hope.  So  many  good  people  of  late 
had  perished  on  the  gibbet,  that  hanging  was  no 
longer  ignominious.  The  best  and  purest  had  died 
thus. 

The  jury  had  been  out  but  a  few  moments,  when 
a  great  hub-bub  arose  without,  and  voices  could  be 
heard  crying: 


CONCLUSION.  377 

"Wait!  wait!  stay  your  verdict!" 

A  crowd  of  men  rushed  into  the  court  room  with 
a  tall  young  man,  whose  weather-beaten  face  in 
dicated  a  seafaring  life,  at  the  head  of  them.  His 
cruel  gray  eyes,  bold  manner,  as  well  as  the  pistols 
and  cutlass  at  his  belt,  gave  him  the  appearance  of 
a  pirate. 

"I  am  not  dead,  I  trow!  Who  said  I  was 
dead?"  he  asked. 

"Samuel  Williams!  Alive!"  cried  a  score  of 
voices. 

"Who  said  I  was  murdered?" 

Sarah  Williams  rose  with  a  shriek  and  stared  at 
her  husband,  as  if  he  had  been  an  apparition,  while 
all  the  witnesses,  including  the  Kev.  Mr.  Parris, 
were  covered  with  confusion.  The  jury  was  re 
called  and  Samuel  Williams  himself  took  the  stand. 
He  stated: 

"I  left  my  wife,  because  I  could  not  live  with 
her,  and,  marry!  I  would  prefer  hanging  to  exist 
ence  with  her.  I  went  to  New  York,  where  Cap 
tain  Robert  Kidd  was  beating  up  recruits  to  sail  as 
a  privateer  in  the  Adventurer  to  protect  commerce 
against  the  French  privateers  and  sea-robbers.  I 
enlisted  and  then,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
Kidd  did  good  service  on  the  American  coast,  and 
we  went  to  the  Indian  Ocean  to  attack  pirates. 
Our  plunder  from  the  pirates  made  us  long  to  gain 


378  THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

more  booty,  and  Kidd  became  a  pirate  himself. 
Armed  with  cutlasses  and  pistols,  we  were  made 
to  board  many  vessels,  English  as  well  as  other 
nationalities.  We  went  to  South  America,  the 
West  Indies,  and  finally  came  to  New  York,  where 
Captain  Kidd,  one  dark  night,  landed  on  Gardiner's 
Island,  east  of  Long  Island,  with  an  enormous 
treasure  of  gold,  jewels  and  precious  stones,  which 
he  buried  in  the  earth.  From  there  we  came  to 
Boston.  A  pardon  had  been  granted  for  all,  save 
Kidd,  who  was  yesterday  arrested  and  sent  to 
England  to  be  tried.*  I  heard  that  a  man  had 
been  arrested  for  my  murder,  and  I  hastened  to 
save  him." 

The  romantic  story  of  the  returned  pirate  pro 
duced  the  most  profound  sensation  among  the 
people  in  the  court  room.  The  jury  had  just  voted 
on  a  verdict  of  guilty,  when  they  were  recalled, 
and  instructed  to  give  a  verdict  of  acquittal,  which 
they  did.  Mr.  Parris  retired  in  humiliation  and 
disgrace.  .Cora  fainted  in  her  rescued  lover's  arms, 
while  Mrs.  Stevens,  falling  on  her  knees,  thanked 
God  that  the  light  of  Heaven  at  last  shone  on  the 
path  so  long  dark.  Cora's  mother  came  to  take 
her  from  the  liberated  prisoner;  but  he  would  not 

*  Kidd  was  subsequently  tried,  condemned,  and  hung 
in  chains  ;  but  his  treasure  on  Gardiner's  Island  has  not  to 
this  day  been  found. 


CONCLUSION.  379 

give  her  up,  holding  her  until  she  regained  con 
sciousness,  when  all  went  home  together,  a  happy 
and  united  family. 

Almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  delusion 
was  dispelled,  and  many  who  had  been  wrong 
hastened,  so  far  as  in  them  lay  to  make  reparation. 
The  bigoted  and  fanatical,  if  we  may  not  say 
hypocritical  preachers,  were  displaced  by  God 
fearing,  righteous  ministers,  who  were  more  liberal, 
exercising  common  sense,  and  possessing  humanity 
as  well  as  godliness,  which  is  ever  essential  to  a 
good  minister.  They  were  liberal,  even  to  the 
player's  child  as  well  as  to  the  players  themselves. 

George  and  Henry  Waters  both  became  citizens 
of  Salem,  and  Charles  and  Cora  were  married  three 
months  after  the  acquittal  of  the  former.  Their 
lives  were  eventful,  with  as  much  happiness  as  is 
commonly  allotted  to  mortals  of  earth,  and  they 
left  nine  children,  all  brought  up  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  lovers  of  liberty. 

Witchcraft  prosecutions  were  doomed,  and 
shortly  after  the  acquittal  of  Charles  Stevens  in  so 
singular  a  manner,  they  altogether  ceased  to  prose 
cute.  The  imprisoned  witches  and  wizards  were 
reprieved  and  set  free.  Reluctant  to  yield,  the 
party  of  superstition  were  resolved  on  one  convic 
tion.  The  victim  selected  was  Sarah  Daston,  a 
woman  eighty  years  old,  who,  for  twenty  years, 


380  THE  WITCH  OF  SALEM. 

had  borne  the  undisputed  reputation  of  a  witch. 
If  ever  there  was  a  witch  in  the  world,  she,  it  was 
said,  was  one.  Her  trial  was  conducted  at  Charles- 
town  in  the  presence  of  a  great  throng.  There  was 
more  evidence  against  her  than  any  tried  at  Salem ; 
but  the  common  mind  disenthralled  of  the  hideous 
delusion  asserted  itself,  through  the  .jury  by  a  ver 
dict  of  acquittal. 

Cotton  Mather,  who  was  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  delusion,  to  cover  his  confusion,  got  up 
a  case  of  witchcraft  in  his  own 
parish.  He  averred  that  mir 
acles  were  wrought  in  Boston. 
Cotton  Mather  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  blood-thirsty, 
though  he  was  more  anxious 
to  protect  his  vanity  than  his 
parishioners,  and  his  bewitch 
ed  neophyte,  profiting  by  his 

cautions,  was  afflicted  bv 
COTTON  MATHEK.  yeiled  spectreg>      The  impog. 

ture  was  promptly  exposed  to  ridicule  by  one  who 
was  designated  as  "a  malignant,  calumnious,  and 
reproachful  man,  a  coal  from  hell."  It  was  the 
uncultured,  but  rational,  Robert  Calef.  Cotton 
Mather  wrote  and  spoke  much  on  the  subject  of 
witchcraft,  long  after  the  delusion  had  vanished. 
The  inexorable  indignation  of  the  people  of 


CONCLUSION.  381 

Salem  Village  drove  Parris  from  the  place.  Noyes 
confessed  his  error  and  guilt,  asked  forgiveness 
and  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  deeds  of 
charity.  Sewall,  one  of  the  judges,  by  rising  in 
his  pew  in  the  Old  South  meeting-house  on  a  fast 
day,  and  reading  to  the  whole  congregation  a  paper, 
in  which  he  bewailed  his  great  offence,  recovered 
public  esteem.  Stoughton  and  Cotton  Mather 
never  repented.  The  former  lived  proud,  unsatis 
fied  and  unbeloved.  The  latter  attempted  to  per 
suade  others  and  himself  that  he  had  not  been  spe 
cially  active  in  the  tragedy.  His  diary  proves  that 
he  did  not  wholly  escape  the  impeachment  of  con 
science,  for  it  is  stated  that  Cotton  Mather,  who 
had  sought  the  foundation  of  faith  in  tales  of  won 
ders  himself,  "had  temptations  to  atheism  and  to 
the  abandonment  of  all  religion  a,s  a  mere  delusion." 

As  when  a  storm  clears  away,  it  leaves  the  at 
mosphere  clearer,  so  the  common  mind  of  New 
England  became  more  wise.  By  employing  a 
cautious  spirit  of  search,  eliminating  error,  reject 
ing  superstition  as  tending  toward  cowardice  and 
submission,  the  people  cherished  religion  as  a 
source  of  courage  and  a  fountain  of  freedom,  and 
forever  after  refused  to  separate  belief  from 
reason. 

The  actual  fate  of  Mr.  Parris  is  not  certainly 
known.  Some  have  intimated  that  he  died  of  a 


382 


THE   WITCH  OF  SALEM. 


loathsome  disease,  others  that,  like  Judas,  he  took 
his  own  life;  but  we  are  assured  that  he  received 
his  share  of  earthly  torment  for  his  base  hypocrisy 
and  cruel  wrongs.  Most  of  the  people  who  pre 
tended  to  be  afflicted  afterward  made  confessions 
admitting  their  error.  Efforts  were  made  by  the 
legislature  to  make  amends  for  some  of  the  great 
wrongs  done  at  Salem ;  but  such  wrongs  can  never 
be  righted.  The  victims  of  Parris'  hate  and  ava 
rice  have  slept  for  two  hundred  years  on  Witches' 
Hill,  and  there  await  the  trump  that  shall  rouse 
the  dead,  when  the  just  shall  be  separated  from 
the  unjust. 

Salem  Village  is  peaceful,  happy  and  quiet.  In 
the  gentle  murmur  of  waves,  the  whisper  of  breezes 
and  the  laugh  of  babbling  brooks,  about  the  quaint 
old  town,  all  nature  seems  to  rejoice  that  the  age 
of  superstition  has  passed. 

THE    END. 


HISTORICAL  INDEX. 


PAGE 

Albany  resists  Leisler 223 

Albany  Convention,  resolutions  of 229 

Andover  remonstrates  against  the  doings  of  the  witch 

tribunes 842 

Andros,  governor  of  New  York,  claims  dominion  of 

Connnecticut 102 

Andros  arrives  at  Hartford  for  charter 104 

Andros  has  a  vice-royal  commission  to  rule  New  York 

and  all  New  England 135 

Andros  seized,  imprisoned  and  sent  to  England 218 

Anne's,  Queen,  war 324 

Archdale,  governor  of  the  Carolinias 148 

Arrival  of  William  Penn  at  Newcastle 30 

Arrival  of  Sloughter  in  the  Beaver 228 

Assembly  meets  at  Philadelphia 36 

Assembly  condemns  Leisler  and  Milborne 231 

Baltimore,    Lord.     Penn  makes  satisfactory  arrange 
ments  with  him  for  Delaware 34 

Baltimore,  Lord,  goes  to  England 137 

Baltimore,  Lord,  death  of 139 

Barclay,  Quaker  author,  appointed  governor  of  East 

Jersey ; 1 

Bayard  receives  Andros 

Bayard  and  Cortlandt  oppose  Leisler 220 

Berkeley,  Lord,  sells  his  interest  in  New  Jersey. .,.,.,  140 
383 


384  HISTORICAL   INDEX. 

PAGK 

Board  of  Trade  and  Plantations 325 

Boll,  Captain,  and  Andros 102 

Bradford,  William,  first  printer  in  Philadelphia 37 

Burroughs,  Rev.  George,  rival  of  Parris 330 

Byllinge  sells  his  interest  in  New  Jersey  to  Penn 141 

Calvert,  Leonard,  death  of 139 

Carteret,  death  of 142 

Casco,  Maine,  attacked  by  Indians 312 

Catholicism  in  New  York  under  King  James 216 

Charles  II. ,  his  reign  drawing  to  a  close 6 

Charles  Stuart  (the  Pretender) 326 

Charter  of  Connecticut  in  mahogany  box 107 

Charter  Oak,  story  of 109 

Church  establishment  in  Maryland 139 

Circle  at  Mr.  Parris'  house 67 

Cloyse,  Mrs. ,  arrested 328 

Connecticut  refuses  to  surrender  charter 103 

Coode's  plot 137 

Coode  in  possession  of  the  records  of  Maryland 138 

Culpepper,  John,  surveyor-general  of  North  Carolinia.  147 

,  Sarah,  acquitted  of  witchcraft 380 

Delaware's  independent  legislature,  1703 41 

Deliverance  Hobbs  confesses  to  being  a  witch 330 

Dongan,  Colonel,  leaves  New  York 217 

Duke  of  Monmouth 44 

Duke  of  York,  fears  of 6 

Duke  of  York  gives  Penn  a  quitclaim  deed  to  Delaware  29 

Duke  of  York  releases  the  Jerseys 142 

Dustin,  Mr. ,  defending  his  children 319 

Dustin,  Mrs. ,  captured 320 

Dustin,  Mrs.,  and  fellow-captives  slay  ten  Indians  and 

escape 322 

Dustin,  Hannah,  monument  of 324 

Easty,  Mary,  arrested  for  a  witch 328 

JSast  Jersey,  Barclay  appointed  governor  for 142 


HISTORICAL   INDEX.  385 

PAGE 

Ennis,  Episcopal  preacher,  misrepresents  Leisler  in  in 
terest  of  Nichols 219 

English  Friends  purchase  New  Jersey 140 

Escape  of  condemned  witches 302 

Evidence  against  Rebecca  Nurse 265 

Fenwick's  first  day  in  New  Jersey 140 

Fits  and  witchcraft 252 

Fletcher  succeeds  Andros. 115 

Fox,  George,  founder  of  Quakers 25 

Franklin,  William,  son  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  last 

royal  governor  of  New  Jersey 144 

Friends,  the  term  applied  to  Quakers 25 

Frontenac  fitting  out  expedition  against  Salmon  Falls.  311 

Good,  Sarah,  and  little  child  arrested  as  witches 253 

Governor  of  New  Jersey  a  tyrant .' 144 

Hale,  Sir  Mathew,  on  witchcraft 235 

Haverhill  attacked  by  Indians 317 

Haverhill  a  second  time  attacked Si.,  325 

Heir  of  James  II.  to  throne 135 

Holme,  Thomas,  the  surveyor  who  aided  Penn  in  laying 

out  Philadelphia 35 

Hyde,  Sir  Edmund,  governor  of  Jerseys f 144 

Immigrants  to  South  Carolinia 150 

Indented  slaves 46 

Ingoldsby,  Sloughter's  captain 229 

Ingoldsby  arrests  Leisler  and  eight  of  his  council 230 

James  II.  on  the  throne  of  England 39 

James  II.  sends  agent  to  Rome  to  visit  the  Pope 40 

Jeffries,  judge  of  the  "  Bloody  Assizes, " . 

Jerseys,  the,  surrendered  to  the  crown,  1702 143 

John,  Mr.  Parris'  West  Indian  slave 

Jury  acquits  Rebecca  Nurse 2 

Jury  reconsiders  verdict  and  convicts  Rebecca  Nurse. .  273 

Kidd,  Captain  Robert,  the  pirate 

Kidd,  Captain,  fate  of 378 

25 


386  HISTORICAL    INDEX. 

PAGE 

King  William's  War 308 

Kirk  hunting  Monmouth's  rebels 44 

Laws  fashioned  by  William  Penn. 36 

Lawson,  Rev.  Deodat,  at  Salem 276 

Lawson,  Rev.  Deodat,  and  the  bewitched 278 

Lawson  interrupted  in  his  sermon  by  the  bewitched. . .  279 
Legislatures    in  American  colonies  do  not  favor  the 

malice  of  James  II 47 

Leisler,  Jacob 216 

Leister  seizes  the  garrison  of  New  York 218 

Leisler  sends  an  address  to  King  William 219 

Leisler  in  charge  of  affairs  at  New  York 221 

Leisler  and  Milborne  arrested 250 

Leisler  tried  and  condemned  231 

Leisler  executed 233 

Leonardson,  Samuel,  escapes  with  Mrs.  Dustin 323 

Locke  and  Cooper's  scheme 145 

Markham,  William,  sent  to  take  possession  of  Pennsyl 
vania  for  William  Penn 28 

Martin,  Susanna,  accused  of  being  a  witch 246 

Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  James  II.,  marries  Prince  of 

Orange 135 

Maryland,  how  affected  by  the  Revolution  of  1688 136 

Maryland  becomes  a  royal  province 138 

Maryland,  seat  of  government  moved  to  Anne  Arundel  139 

Mather,  Cotton 249 

Mather's,  Cotton,  Mexican  argument 184 

Mather's,  Cotton,  triumph 331 

Mather's  tendency  to  atheism 381 

Milborne,  Jacob,  son-in-law  of  Leisler 219 

Milborne,  Jacob,  captures  Albany 226 

Milborne  hung 232 

Monk,    Duke  of  Albemarle,  created  viceroy  over  em 
pire  of  North  Carolinia 145 

Monmouth,  Duke  of,  beheaded 44 


HISTORICAL   INDEX.  387 


PAGE 


Morris  commissioned  governor  of  New  Jersey 144 

Neff,  Mrs.,  nurse  to  Mrs.  Dustin,  captured 320 

New  Castle,  arrival  of  Penn  at 30 

New  Englanders,  character  of 5 

New  England  settled  by  fugitives 351 

New  Jersey  divided  into  East  and  West  Jersey 141 

Nicholson,  lieutenant-governor  of  New  York 210 

Nicholson  misrepresents  Leisler 220 

Nicholson  made  governor  of  Virginia 221 

Nicholson,  governor  of  Maryland,  sends  Mrs.  Dustin  a 

silver  tankard 321 

North  Carol  inia  and  the  navigation  act 146 

Noyes,  Rev.  Mr. ,  and  the  eight  firebrands  of  hell 375 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  arrested  as  a  witch 256 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  trial  of 265 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  acquitted 272 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  convicted  and  sentenced 273 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  excommunicated 274 

Nurse,  Rebecca,  hung 275 

Orange,  Prince  of,  marries  Princess  Mary 135 

Parris,  Samuel,  minister  at  Salem 65 

Parris'  circle 251 

Parris  propagating  the  delusion  of  witchcraft 258 

Parris,  fate  of,  unknown 382 

Penn,  William,  adopts  the  religion  of  a  Quaker 26 

Penn's  attention  drawn  to  America— his  charter 27 

Penn  gets  a  quitclaim  deed  to  Delaware  from  Duke  of 

York 29 

Penn's  treaty  with  the  Indians 31 

Penn's  new  charter  adopted 36 

Penn  returns  to  England  in  summer  of  1684 37 

Penn  bidding  colonists  farewell— his  departure 38 

Penn,  restored  to  his  rights,  returns  to  America 40 

Penn,  death  of 41 

Pennsylvania,  how  named 28 


388  HISTORICAL   INDEX. 

PAGE 

Pennsylvania  divided  into  three  counties 37 

Persecution  of  the  Monmouth  rebels 47 

Philadelphia,  how  named  and  laid  out  by  Penn  and 

Holme 35 

Phipps  reduces  Acadia 314 

Phipps  in  Massachusetts 342 

Pilgrims  persecute  Quakers 24 

Puritan  superstition 160 

Quakers  persecuted  by  Pilgrims 24 

Quaker,  how  the  term  came  to  be  used 25 

Rhode  Island  charter  surrendered 114 

Ryswick,  treaty  of 325 

Salem 2 

Salem  witchcraft 234 

Salmon  Falls  attacked 311 

Schenectady  attacked  by  French  and  Indians 309 

Sidney,  Algernon,  aids  Penn  in  drawing  up  a  code  of 

laws  for  Pennsylvania 29 

Sloughter,  Colonel  Henry,  commissioned  governor  of 

New  York 228 

Sothel,  Seth,  governor  of  North  Carolinia 147 

Sothel  arrested,  tried  and  convicted 148 

South  Carolinia  politics  in  1672 149 

Stoll,  Jost,  the  ensign  who  bore  Leisler's  letter  to  King 

William 220 

Stoughton,  judge  to  try  witches 343 

Superstition,  the  reign  of 328 

Swedes  and  William  Penn 34 

Tituba,  Mr.  Parris'  slave 66 

Train-bands  summoned 107 

Treat,  Robert,  governor  of  Connecticut 115 

Uplands  (now  Chester  County),  Penn  meets  assembly  at  34 

Van  Cortlandt's  burnt  offering 135 

Wadsworth  and  the  Charter  Oak 110 

Walcot,  Mary,  bitten  by  a  witch 277 


HISTORICAL   INDEX.  389 

PAGE 

Welcome,  name  of  Penn's  ship 30 

West  Jersey,  first  popular  assembly  at  Salem 142 

William  and  Mary  deprive  Penn  of  his  rights  as  gov 
ernor  40 

William  and  Mary's  ascension  to  the  throne  of  England 

hailed  with  joy  throughout  New  England 217 

Williams,  Abigail,  niece  of  Mr.  Parris 68 

Williams,  Abigail,  bewitched 279 

Winthrop's  expedition  fails 314 

Witchcraft,  belief  in  general 235 

Witchcraft,  evidence  of 266 

Witchcraft,  trials  for 331 

Witchcraft,  doctrine  of 380 

Witch  doctor 236 

Witches  hung  on  Witches'  Hill 275 


THE 


COLUMBIAN   HISTORICAL  NOVELS. 


A  Complete  History  of  Our  Country,  from  the  Time  of  Columbus 

down  to  the  Present  Day,  in  the  form  of  Twelve  Complete 

Stories.      By  JOHN   R.   MUSICK.      Uniform  Size 

and  Style ;    I2mo,   Cloth,   Illustrated. 

Price,  per  vol.  ,$1.50. 


RE7SDY. 

Vol.  I.  Columbia  :    A  Story  of  the  Discovery  of  America. 

Vol.  II.  Estevan  :    A  Story  of  the  Spanish  Conque**. 

Vol.  III.  St.  Augustine  :    A  Story  of  the  Huguenot*. 

Vol.  IV.  Pocahontas  :    A  Story  of  Virginia. 

Vol.  V.  The  Pilgrims  :    A  Story  of  Massachusetts. 

Vol.  VI.  A  Century  Too  Soon  :    A  Story  of  Bacon's  Rebellion. 

Vol.  VII.  The  Witch  of  Salem  ;  or,  Credulity  Run  Mad. 

The  following  to  be  issued  bi-monthly,  beginning; 
July  ist,  1893  : 

Vol.  VIII.     Braddock  :     A  Story  of  the  French  and  Indian  Wars. 
Vol.      IX.     Independence:    A  Story  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Vol.        X.     Sustained  Honor  :     A  Story  of  the  War  of  1812. 
Vol.      XI.     Humbled  Pride  :     A  Story  of  the  Mexican  War. 
Vol.    XII.     Union:   A  Story  of  the  Great  Rebellion  and  of  Events 
down  to  the  Present  Day. 


The  Historical  Divisions  are :  ist.  Age  of  Discovery ;  2d. 
Conquest  ;  3d.  Bigotry ;  4th.  Colonization  ;  5th.  Reason  ;  6th. 
Tyranny;  7th.  Superstition;  8th.  Contention  of  Powers  for 
Supremacy ;  gth.  Independence  ;  loth.  Liberty  Established ; 
nth.  Supremacy  Abroad  ;  1 2th.  Union. 

Each  volume  about  350  pages,  liberally  illustrated  with  excel 
lent  half-tone  engravings  and  other  illustrations. 


FUNK  &  WAQNALLS  COMPANY,  Publishers, 

1 8  and  20  Astor  Place,  New  York. 

LONDON:  TORONTO,  CAN.: 

44  Fleet  Street.  »  Richmond  St.,  W. 


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